Joe Conway
Cultural and Educational Panel · Independent · Ireland
“I move amendment No. 73: In page 41, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “Report on the protection of whistleblowers 63. The Minister shall within 12 months of the commencement of this Act lay a report detailing how whistleblowers who expose information related to artificial intelligence technologies can receive enhanced pro…”
“I want to be associated with the congratulatory remarks for Senator Byrne. I want to put on the record of the House the decorous and sincere apology given on behalf of the State by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, and attested to by the other party leaders, to the victims of the Kenneally abuse in Waterford.”
“Yesterday, I had a meeting in Leinster House with a visually impaired artist and a namesake of mine, Emilie Conway from Mayo. She was the recipient of an Arts Council open competition bursary, which she was delighted to get. She thought it would make a big change to her life. It did, but it also had a downside.”
“Chuala mé níos túisce ar maidin an Teachta Moynihan ag labhairt ar an raidió faoi chás na e-scooters agus an méid oibre atá déanta ag An Garda Síochána chun iad a bhaint de na sráideanna agus stop a chur leis an dainséar. It was a point very well made by Deputy Moynihan.”
“When we come back after the recess, we should have a comprehensive debate in this House with the Minister where we can ventilate our concerns about various road safety matters. I do not want to labour the point, but we can see that things are not getting better in relation to road safety.”
“Senator McCarthy talked about what happened at London recently. It is happening at airports all over the world. The resilience factor and regional airports are very important. There has to be a plan B if the big airport goes down. That is self-evident. I am happy to indicate those items that are of concern to me.”
The complete record
Every one of 675 lines we hold for Joe Conway, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 14.
“I move amendment No. 73: In page 41, between lines 20 and 21, to insert the following: “Report on the protection of whistleblowers 63. The Minister shall within 12 months of the commencement of this Act lay a report detailing how whistleblowers who expose information related to artificial intelligence technologies can receive enhanced protections apart from what is listed in the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022.”. The amendment states that the Minister shall within 12 months of the commencement of this Act lay a report detailing how whistleblowers who expose information related to artificial intelligence technologies can receive enhanced protections apart from what is listed in the Protected Disclosures (Amendment) Act 2022. As I said at the outset, the amendment is largely self-explanatory.”
“Yesterday, I had a meeting in Leinster House with a visually impaired artist and a namesake of mine, Emilie Conway from Mayo. She was the recipient of an Arts Council open competition bursary, which she was delighted to get. She thought it would make a big change to her life. It did, but it also had a downside. She found to her horror that receiving the bursary impacted negatively on her blind pension. It is counter-intuitive that that could be allowed to stand. I intend to write to the Minister for an explanation. If and when I get it, I will share it with the House. It is a situation that should not pertain.”
“I want to be associated with the congratulatory remarks for Senator Byrne. I want to put on the record of the House the decorous and sincere apology given on behalf of the State by the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste, and attested to by the other party leaders, to the victims of the Kenneally abuse in Waterford. A chronicle of missed opportunities and neglect by the powers that be allowed the case to go unanswered for so long. It is particularly poignant for me because one of the abused men, Colin Power, was a fourth-class pupil of mine back in the day. It is heart-rending to remember a little child in all their innocence and to think they went through that awful abuse at the hands of the convicted paedophile. Well done to the State and the political leaders.”
“When we come back after the recess, we should have a comprehensive debate in this House with the Minister where we can ventilate our concerns about various road safety matters. I do not want to labour the point, but we can see that things are not getting better in relation to road safety. We need to have a good discussion here and a ventilation of the worries.”
“Chuala mé níos túisce ar maidin an Teachta Moynihan ag labhairt ar an raidió faoi chás na e-scooters agus an méid oibre atá déanta ag An Garda Síochána chun iad a bhaint de na sráideanna agus stop a chur leis an dainséar. It was a point very well made by Deputy Moynihan. I praise his initiative in gathering the statistics that highlight the very good work done by An Garda. As in all cases, there is much more to be done. Practically every Member of this House spends a fair amount of time behind the wheel. In so doing, we probably come across in our day-to-day business much evidence of what can only be described as dangerous overtaking. Looking at the whole road safety argument and road safety question in Ireland, it seems to be ag dul in olcas at the moment.”
“We cannot just stand idly by and allow a wholesale land grab in the West Bank to rip ahead and not, as a people, decry such behaviour before a disbelieving world. For that reason, the Bill merits support. As the Minister said, it will very definitely focus the attention of many nations, particularly our European partners, on the Israeli plans to scupper for all time the two-state solution long held dear by right-thinking people. In so doing, any tentative hope of peace in our time sa Mheánoirthear becomes further from reality. As the Minister said, it is a widely accepted fact that, unless this problem is sorted out once and for all, there will never be peace in that area or, indeed, anywhere in the world.”
“The Bill before us is a response, albeit a far from perfect one, to the predations of the Israeli Cabinet, spurred on by its cheerleaders, Smotrich and Ben-Gvir, and, of course, ably buttressed by a Prime Minister who fiendishly clings to power with the support of the aforementioned apartheid notables. As I said at the outset, the Bill is more symbolic than tangible. It is a measure with which we in Ireland can display to the world our belief in the immorality and illegality of Israel's actions in the West Bank. Whether it deals with produce or produce and services, it is still likely, because of the quantum involved, to be just what I said, namely, a largely symbolic gesture. However, symbolism is hugely important. It is important beyond belief before the eyes of the world.”
“Settlers erected fences along roads spanning at least 50 km. Massive fences were placed, mainly in the Jordan Valley and in areas used by those communities, thereby, in effect, cutting off hundreds of thousands of dunams of land. In recent times, settlers have taken control of at least 11,000 dunams, or approximately 3,000 acres, of agricultural land, including fields, orchards and vineyards. Until recently, much of that land was cultivated by Palestinians, who have been latterly either displaced from the area or prevented from accessing their property. That takes us to the nub of what we are talking about today. How should we regard and deal with what is now becoming an everyday reality on the West Bank?”
“The Government has provided extensive and sustained funding, particularly for unauthorised outposts, while retroactively legalising them and facilitating the takeover of the land. Between 2023 and 2025, 185 new outposts were established in the West Bank, most of them agricultural settlements and so-called Hilltop Youth outposts. Together, they now control more than 1 million dunams or approximately 250,000 acres, or about 18% of the total area of the West Bank. One hundred and eighteen Palestinian communities and shepherding clusters, that is, residential areas, some of which are part of those same communities, were systematically displaced. The residents left their homes due to settler violence, restrictions on access to water and a lack of protection from the authorities, which prevents Palestinians from returning.”
“The Knesset passed legislation that revoked the ban on Israelis entering the evacuated West Bank areas, thus opening the door for settlers to return to these specific sites, such as Homesh in the northern section. This marked a major reversal of the 2005 policy of disengagement. During the past three and a half years, the Israeli Government has accelerated the de facto annexation of the West Bank through a systematic transformation of the control regime. This includes settlement expansion, the displacement of Palestinian communities, the retroactive legalisation of outposts and increased control over areas previously the responsibility of the Palestinian Authority.”
“Prime Minister Netanyahu took office in December 2022, with 22 of his 25 Cabinet members from the Likud, Shas, United Torah Judaism, the Religious Zionist Party, Otzma Yehudit, Noam and New Hope parties. His emboldened Minister of Justice, Yariv Levin, announced within a week that the Government was immediately setting about a multi-part restructuring of the country's legal system. This set off mass protests in Israel that continued for months. Through the springtime, while the media and the public at large were, so to speak, looking the other way, the legal framework created by the 2005 disengagement was significantly altered in March 2023 and slipped through.”
“Lest we forget, it was a victory enabled by our now European colleagues in France who armed Israel to the teeth. Those Mirage, Mystère, Ouragan and Vautour aircraft and the undoubted skills of the Israeli aircrews generated that famous victory. The end of the brief conflict saw Israel take control of the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip, captured from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem, captured from Jordan and the Golan Heights, captured from Syria. Inevitably, it also gave rise to possibly up to half a million Palestinian refugees and the first postwar iteration of the so-called West Bank settler dimension that was somewhat lessened by the disengagement policy of Ariel Sharon and his Government in 2005, which saw settlements closed completely in the northern West Bank, around the area of Homesh.”
“No, it has, and may well have in times to come, a significance and prominence way beyond the parameters of our Houses, coming, as it does, from a widespread feeling of unease at the very lowest gradation and across-the-board revulsion amid our people at the mindset of the current Israeli Government and its smiting of the Palestinian people and the decimation of their homelands over the past three years, in particular. In June 2027, it will be 60 years since the Six-Day War, when most of Ireland and much of the western world celebrated heartily the outstanding Israeli blitzkrieg against Egypt, Jordan and Syria. It was then, plucky little Israel against the combined might of the Arab hordes. Some of us here are old enough to remember those times quite well.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach. Is mór é domsa an Bille seo a fheiceáil ar an gclár inniu. Is fada an t-achar ó tháinig sé os ár gcomhair i bhfoirm eile in 2018. Is fearr déanach ná go brách, i ndáiríre. Is mian liom tagairt a dhéanamh den mhéid oibre atá déanta ag mo chomhghleacaí, an Seanadóir Frances Black. Rinne sí sárobair ar an gcás seo agus d’oibrigh sí go dúthrachtach ag cur na hargóinte chun cinn, ag déanamh oideachais agus ag feabhsú an cháis i measc na Seanadóirí agus níos forleithne ná sin. After a long gestation, this Bill is being introduced and falls within the category more of gesture than efficacy. That is not to say the Bill is not important or worthwhile. Nor is it a dissipation of precious parliamentary time, as some hereabouts might claim.”
“As a matter of interest, if one bought 10,000 Ryanair shares at Christmas 2023, those shares would now have increased in value by 91%. That is an indication of the money that is being made in the airline industry, and that is just one airline. We have really serious questions to ask and I commend Senator Higgins on exposing that. I do not think she or the House are being alarmist, but there is more to Dublin Airport and the economy of the country than simply putting it all on the altar of Mammon.”
“I want to augment what Senator Higgins was saying. I recall when it became almost moderately fashionable to go to places in the Middle East, like Dubai, Doha, and so on. Neighbours with children out there would come back and say they do not know how people live out there, that it was 36°C and hit 40°C once. The fact is that right now, places that are heavily serviced by aircraft, including Spain, Portugal, Italy, Corsica, Sardinia and Sicily, are almost burning at the moment. It is a harbinger of what will become of us, in prosperous Europe, in the next few years, if we do not take our responsibilities seriously. One of the great offenders is the airline industry and the untrammelled regulation of the airlines.”
“Senator McCarthy talked about what happened at London recently. It is happening at airports all over the world. The resilience factor and regional airports are very important. There has to be a plan B if the big airport goes down. That is self-evident. I am happy to indicate those items that are of concern to me. I am not the only one concerned about them. Unlike the Minister, I do not live under the flight path of Dublin Airport. However, I do live under what I hope will be the flight path of Waterford Airport. As a keen aircraft watcher, I am looking forward to that. I will be there with my binoculars day in and day out. However, I will not be dying from ingesting too much particulate matter because regional airports are easier to live beside. I get communications from people who live near the airport and I pity them.”
“When we had the debate last week, I listed a number of critical safety, resilience and security questions for the Minister of State who was here, Deputy Buttimer. I followed this up with an email to the Minister's office yesterday. Latterly, I got back a very comprehensive reply from the Minister's private secretary. Perhaps I should not have mentioned that. Be that as it may, the answer to the questions I asked was generally that none of the investigations I specified, which related to security, safety and resilience, had been carried out. Here in the Seanad, we often pride ourselves on being an informed Legislature and a revising Chamber. When we ask critical questions about safety, security and resilience at the airport, such an answer comes as a great disappointment to us.”
“When we had the debate last week, on 1 July, I listed for the Minister of State who was here at the time a series of critical questions that needed to be answered. I got a reply from the Minister's office today saying that none of these assessments were done.”
“While I am on my feet, I will refer to the argument the Minister made in relation to the regional airports and the encouraging rate of growth in their passenger numbers. That is delightful to hear and we all know it but it is a slightly disingenuous argument. How would the numbers have grown without the preponderance of investment and development at Dublin Airport? On the 5,000 jobs that would be lost, what about the jobs that would be gained in rural Ireland if the regional airports were allowed to develop? We should not say that Dublin Airport is the only thing that can generate economic activity. That cannot be the case. There is a lot of skewed thinking on this. There are many upset people out there, with whom I am minded to agree in many instances, who are under the impression that this is not good legislation.”
“Cotter was rather glum about the projected passenger numbers of 40 million and possibly 60 million at Dublin Airport and the collateral damage to what are euphemistically called the "receptors" out there. It is a case of being allowed to mark your own homework. The EPA is not allowed to monitor the particulate matter or emissions at Dublin Airport. It is apparently the DAA that does this. It is a classic case of correcting your own homework. There should be checks and balances in these things. I am not a hanging-from-the-clothesline environmentalist. I try to see a sensible middle line. However, allowing the offender to measure the emissions and particulate matter at Dublin Airport rather than employing the EPA to do an independent assessment just seems bizarre.”
“I would like to take up the theme that was adverted to by Senator Higgins. I am looking at a prediction from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council to the effect that between now and 2030, we are going to have to open the envelope and look at a bill for anything between €3 billion and €6 billion. Irish taxpayers will be faced with paying this money because the country is going to remain off track on its emissions up to 2030. I do not know where we are going to get that money and keep health services, education services and all of the other services on track. It is a horrendous spectre to have before us. I am just wondering. While I did not hear it myself, I am told there was an interview this morning with Dr. Eimear Cotter, the head of the EPA. Dr.”
“Everybody in this Chamber and in these Houses would champion the cause of balanced regional development. We know it is the thing to do. It is good for the environment. It is good for local economies. It is good for the social life of the country. It is good for our morale. It is good for Ireland. When we bow down and worship at the altar of one not very euphoniously mouthed airline magnate who is demanding these things happen at Dublin Airport, that is making a terrible sacrifice and martyrdom of the potential that exists in rural and suburban Ireland. I wanted to put down those markers and I hope my colleague will have something further to say on the matter.”
“It caused uproar and was rationalised by Iarnród Éireann at the time. It said it was a railway that was not being used. Of course, that only told half the story. It was not being used because they ran trains at the most bizarre times of early morning and late at night. You orchestrate the result you want to get. There is an element of that in promoting, untrammelled, the airport in Dublin. That is making it more difficult for regional development and for regional airports in particular to grow themselves and attract numbers to boost tourism and generate economic development. It is for that reason that Senator McCarthy and I wanted to put down this amendment. It is a theme happily gravitated towards by Members last Wednesday evening. We are pushing at an open door.”
“When a preponderance of numbers is going through Dublin Airport and 60% of the economic activity of the country is centred within a 60 km radius of O'Connell Bridge, we are looking at a situation where there is a great discrepancy between the viability, prosperity and potential of regional airports and the airport in Dublin. As the Minister well knows, the programme for Government puts front and centre the concept of balanced regional development. To my way of thinking and that of any logical person looking at it, the untrammelled expansion of Dublin Airport flies in the face of balanced regional development vis-á-vis airports. There is no doubt that a lot of people will want to fly in to Dublin Airport, but as I said last week, we had some years ago the closure of the rail line between Waterford and Rosslare.”
“I move amendment No. 2: In page 7, between lines 22 and 23, to insert the following: “Report on regional development 4. (1) The Minister shall within 12 months of the passing of this Act lay a report before the Houses of the Oireachtas on how smaller regional airports can be effectively utilised in order to support regional development. (2) The report should take into account how smaller regional airports can be utilised to support lower fares, increase local employment and reduce the need to rely on larger airports.”. I thank the Cathaoirleach for the opportunity to speak on this. Cuirim fáilte mhór arís roimh an Aire go dtí an Teach seo. The substance of this amendment was adverted to a week ago, on 1 July, when we mentioned that the airport traffic numbers are levitated in a type of balance.”
“It is regrettable that certain people say that the people of Swords knew what they were buying into when they bought their houses 30 or 35 years ago. I think Michael O’Leary said it was tough on them. However, would anybody care to speculate on what the number of passenger movements or plane movements were in Collinstown 35 years ago? It was a much more benign environment out there. Go raibh maith agat.”
“If we counterbalance the expansion of the passenger load at Dublin Airport and the possibility of balanced regional development involving airports, such as the one starting in Waterford and those in Cork, Kerry, Mayo and in Shannon, it is anathema to their viable development if Dublin Airport is hogging the passenger numbers. It is said that people want to fly into Dublin Airport, but this is only because the situation is similar to that which pertained when the railway line between Waterford and Rosslare was closed. This was closed because it was said nobody was using it, but nobody was using it because the trains were being run at 2 o'clock in the morning or something like that. It is a question of generating the result that you want. There are many things about this that we are unhappy about.”
“When all comes to all and we get down to brass tacks, it looks like this is a sort of joust between Michael O’Leary, on the one hand, and, as the Dublin Opinion used to say, Seán Citizen on the other hand. I do not think that the result of any such joust was ever more clearly foreseen. It is an unequal contest and I think we all know the result. We know who the losers are going to be. In this House, we have had one, at least, and maybe two good debates about balanced regional development. It might be in the programme for Government as well to work for balanced regional development.”
“This is an indication of the integral part it plays in the community and the economy out there. The core stance of the council encompasses several key points. It consistently highlights that the passenger limits, such as the 32 million cap, were legally binding conditions tied to the infrastructure permissions. The council strongly points out that when the DAA’s planning applications to lift the limit were rejected or deemed invalid by the local authorities, this was done because of procedural or planning mechanism issues. The local residents assert the broader concerns of the Airport Regions Council, ARC, which advocates for strict environmental controls, controls on noise and quality-of-life boundaries for the communities directly impacted or overflown by the airport expansion.”
“The writer underscores key principles in his submission here to us, which include that pilots are not investigators; uncertainty must be captured first and assessed afterwards; reporting and the investigation that follows are completely separate matters; it is not sufficient to take reports from the same aircraft, the same crew and the same flight; and radar detects what is in the skies above Dublin and the nation, but good procedures protect. I will now turn to the concerns of our Independent councillors in Fingal. I agree with what Senator Clifford-Lee said when she mentioned that so many jobs attend the progress and viability of Dublin Airport. In fact, for our local authority out there, Fingal County Council, Dublin Airport is its largest ratepayer; I think I am right in saying that.”
“Also, how were aviation safety, security and operational resilience and community concerns carried forward? His closing request was that the Minister publish any and all safety and security resilience assessments, provide written responses to submissions from members of the public and that he, or a senior official, meet with the writer of this correspondence, as recommended by the Oireachtas committee.”
“In relation to aviation security and resilience, what aviation security assessment was undertaken? Were defence, Garda and national resilience bodies consulted? What operational resilience assessments considered global navigation satellite system, GNSS, interference, drones and emerging risks? In relation to reporting and investigation, who owns an assessment after a report is made? Who owns the escalation of that report? Who owns the investigation? Who owns closure of a safety-relevant anomalous aerial observation? The writer of the letter, as a resident of Swords, made a statutory planning submission in 2004 and paid the prescribed fee. How was that submission and those of other members of the public considered once the Government changed the legislative framework?”
“Given the pace at which the legislation is [now] progressing, I have consolidated my outstanding questions into this briefing. These questions arise from more than five years of research and engagement with Irish, European and international stakeholders and form part of the SAFE-AIR White Paper, now exceeding fifty pages. They are intended to assist [us in our] parliamentary scrutiny by seeking clarification on aviation safety, security, operational resilience, governance and public participation. Stemming from the report, the writer wants to ask the Minister the following pointed questions. In relation to aviation safety, what formal aviation safety assessment accompanied the Bill? Which aviation authorities were consulted? Can the Minister publish the safety assessments relied upon for the formulation of the Bill?”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire Stáit anocht. I am going to speak on the Dublin Airport (Passenger Capacity) Bill 2026 in the context of aviation safety, aviation security, operational resilience and public participation. A lot of the opening remarks I am going to make here are based on a report done in June 2026 by an airspace safety advocate from the perspective of aviation reporting and governance. I refer to his covering letter: I write further to my previous correspondence regarding aviation safety, aviation security, operational resilience and the Dublin Airport Passenger Capacity Bill. The Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen has suggested that you [that is, the Minister], or a senior official, meet with me.”
“I am out of time but Members will gather from the import of what I am saying that while I am sure AI presents great opportunities, I have a profound sense of worry and unease about the whole pig in a poke that we are buying about the great good it can do. Undoubtedly, it can do good but it is fraught with all sorts of difficulties and concerns. I just hope I do not live to see it become the ogre that many people are pointing it out to be.”
“With respect to the oifig intleachta shaorga, the Minister of State mentioned in her introduction to the legislation “the nomination and appointment of adjudicators, while expressly safeguarding their independence”. Could she possibly tell us how exactly it is envisaged that we are going to expressly safeguard the independence of those adjudicators? Senator Stephenson mentioned that none of the big tech companies took up the invitation of our Oireachtas committees to attend. It is a very poor signal of their participation in the democratic processes of our land if they will not even give us a reck by coming along to the parliamentary committee meetings.”
“The key question for the House is whether the framework we are putting in place strikes the right balance. We are talking about oifig intleachta shaorga na hÉireann and its functions. There are positives to it but there are also negatives, and we have to worry about all of the things Senators Ruane and Stephenson mentioned in relation to the regulation of and response to AI. Are we going to have adequate responses to the use of AI to generate harmful and abusive materials? There are all sorts of concerns around defamation and character assassination. There are also wider issues, as referred to this morning on the Order of Business. Kilmeaden, a sleepy bucolic village in Waterford is now going to have a data centre on 108 ha of land, and all the implications that come from that.”
“He said to his fellow drinker, “Do you know anything about this trigonometry stuff?” The other guy replied, “I don’t, but I have seen it done.” That is where we are at with artificial intelligence. We do not know anything about it, but we know it is going on somewhere. We know that it is going on now all around us. The first thing I would say about this legislation, and it has been adverted to by a number of the speakers here, concerns the pace at which it has been thrown at us and its treatment in the other House last night. It does not inspire confidence, in me anyway. This legislation is 106 pages in length. It is very well drafted. It is very well put together by whoever drafted it, but it is the governmental thrust behind it that has me worried.”
“I láthair na huaire, táim cinnte nach bhfuil aon cheist ann atá chomh réabhlóideach agus chomh casta leis an gceist seo faoin intleacht shaorga. Is breá an rud é go bhfuil seans againn inniu féachaint ar an mBille seo agus ar an imní atá againn ar an taobh seo den Teach faoin luas lena bhfuil an Bille ag dul ar aghaidh agus faoi na rudaí atá ag gabháil leis an mBille i gcoitinne. To break it into percentages, I suppose that 90% to 95% of people who speak about AI in forums like this remind me of a conversation I heard in a bar in Longford many years ago, when a parent was discussing the travails in his household because of a son who was trying to negotiate the difficulties of trigonometry.”
“Also, in light of the recent Friends of the Earth and United Nations report regarding data centres, which could all be read here with redound, I am deeply concerned about the road we are taking. Many would say that the world is beginning to tip into great climate challenge. Just this morning I saw in The Irish Times that there is a likelihood we will face €13 billion annual fines for breaching emissions targets in the decades to come. I respectfully request we seek a debate in Seanad Éireann on the implications of this development and the wider policy issues surrounding large-scale data centre projects in Ireland.”
“At a time when Ireland is seeking to reduce emissions and meet ambitious climate targets, serious questions arise regarding the project’s electricity demand and source of supply, the role of gas-fired generation and associated emissions, water consumption and its impact on local resources and aquifers, the cumulative impact of large-scale data centre developments on Ireland’s energy infrastructure and the compatibility of such developments with national climate, planning and environmental policies. This proposal also raises broader concerns regarding the industrialisation of rural communities and the long-term implications for Ireland’s environment, energy security and infrastructure capacity. I believe these matters warrant national scrutiny and should not be considered solely through the local planning process.”
“I want to record my concerns about the proposed data centre and energy campus development at Blackknock in Adamstown, Kilmeaden, County Waterford. The proposal by Echelon Data Centres and Kent Homes Limited includes three large data centres, a solar farm, battery energy storage systems and a gas-powered energy centre across approximately 108 ha of rural land. While located in Kilmeaden, the issues raised by this development are of national importance.”
“In my remaining time, I want to ask if it is possible to have laid before the House or presented to Members a response from the Government, and the Department of Finance in particular, to the details of the recent report by the European Court of Auditors, which stated that there are deep concerns about the way Ireland is responding to illegal and worrying cross-border action in tax avoidance schemes, money laundering and so on. Five states were indicated and, unfortunately, we are listed among the five laggards. I think it is less than we deserve, when people are up to all sorts of skulduggery and criminality in the border areas and around the country, that, through lack of diligence, we may be facilitating their profiteering at the risk of the goodwill of our society. Can we have a response? Can it be made available to all Members?”
“I join Senators Wilson and Gallagher in congratulating our new Leader and wishing him all the very best. I wish him very well. I have no doubt he will do extraordinary work for the effectiveness of the House. Cuirfidh mé leis an méid a bhí á rá ag na Seanadóirí Gallagher agus Wilson faoi na coimisiúin a bhí a dtabhairt amach le déanaí don slua muirí. Ní mór dom a rá go bhfuil sé scannalach gan Aire a bheith ann chun an dualgas sin a chomhlíonadh. Tá drochbhail ar an scéal sin faoi na coimisiúin. Ba mhaith geallúint ón Rialtas nach dtarlódh an méid sin arís.”
“B'fhéidir nach bhfuil an ceart deimhin agam, ach ceapaim nach bhfuil sé toilteanach agus nach bhfuil an chumhacht seo de dhíth uaidh dul isteach i scéimeanna mar seo ag lorg, thall is abhus, tailte le díol nó le cur ar cíos do dhaoine nó cumainn nó gach uile rud mar sin. Níor mhaith liom tacú leis an leasú seo ar an ábhar sin. Ní hé seo an díriú atá ar an mBille. Tá an Bille seo dírithe i gceart don údarás. Leis an leasú seo, bheifí ag caitheamh ualach mór oibre ar an údarás, rud nach bhfuil tuillte aige. Níl sé de dhíth air. Mar sin, tá mé in aghaidh an leasaithe seo.”
“Mar is eol do nach mór gach Seanadóir, chaith mé tréimhse dhá bhliain ar bhord an údaráis. Chuala mé arís agus arís eile an díospóireacht a bhí ann ansin. Níl mé ag ligean amach aon rún anois, ach bhí síordhíospóireacht faoi thithíocht agus na tailte a bhí i seilbh an údaráis agus an chomhairle a bhí á fáil aige iad sin a ligean amach ar an margadh agus araile. I measc na gcomhaltaí, bhí sé go forleathan ina dtuairimí go raibh dóthain oibre le déanamh ag an údarás féin gan a bheith ag dul isteach sa mhargadh maoine mar shórt ceantálaí ag díol agus ag ceannach maoine, réadmhaoine chomh maith. Tuigim go rímhaith cá háit as a dtagann an leasú seo, ach i ndáiríre, tá a ghnó féin le déanamh ag an údarás.”
“Is aoibhinn liomsa a ligean amach anois go bhfuil mé ar tí éalú amach ón doras chun eitilt a fháil ó Bhaile Átha Cliath chuig Gaeltacht Chiarraí courtesy of Michael O'Leary.”
“De réir sin, déantar foráil leis an mBille chun cumhacht a thabhairt don údarás tailte atá ina sheilbh a dhiúscairt chuig comhlachtaí tithíochta ceadaithe. Tá sé sin inmholta go deo. Maidir le pleanáil teanga, mar gheall ar an leibhéal saineolais atá léirithe ag na heagraíochtaí a bhfuil sé de chúram orthu pleananna teanga a ullmhú agus a chur i bhfeidhm ó cuireadh tús le hAcht 2012, tá sé beartaithe sa Bhille go mbeidh cumhacht ann na heagraíochtaí sin a athcheapadh seachas athfhilleadh ar an bpróiseas tosaigh le haghaidh eagraíochtaí a cheapadh sula dtéann sé isteach i dtimthriall nua den phróiseas pleanála teanga. I ndeireadh na Dála, chun críoch a chur le mo phort, is mian lenár ngrúpa comhartha a thabhairt go bhfuil ár dtacaíocht leis an mBille seo agus lenár nGaeltachtaí go brách.”
“Tá acraí talaimh i seilbh an údaráis atá oiriúnach don tithíocht ach ní mór na mionsonraí dlí a chomhlíonadh. B'fhéidir go bhfuil rudaí mar an gcéanna i ngach ceann de na Gaeltachtaí. Is léir go bhfuil an Bille seo ag díriú isteach ar na cásanna seo. Aontaím leis an obair seo. Is é ceann de na saincheisteanna is práinní i bpobail Ghaeltachta agus ar bhonn náisiúnta an gá le tithíocht a sholáthar. Le linn mo thréimhse mar chomhalta an bhoird, d'aithin an t-údarás roinnt suímh oiriúnacha ina phunann mhaoine féin a d'fhéadfaí a fhorbairt chun na críocha sin. Meastar go bhfuil sé caoi cumhachtaí sainráite a thabhairt don údarás chun talamh atá faoin úinéireacht aige a dhiúscairt nó a dhíol chuig údaráis tithíochta nó comhlachtaí tithíochta ceadaithe chun críche na tithíochta.”