Ken O'Flynn
Cork North-Central · Independent Ireland · Ireland
“The Government has not addressed school uniform problems or the fact that most parents have to pay €300 for a PE kit. It has not addressed the problem that parents have to give this voluntary contribution, which is really not voluntary when schools are putting out news bulletins listing the names of families who have contributed and those…”
“Every one of us knows from our own constituencies that laptops, iPads and tablets are being used regularly by order of boards of management. I have to acknowledge the Government's good work and call it out, including the free books scheme and the school meals. However, the Government has made a hames of the school meals.”
“Like many of the stories the Minister of State has heard today in the House, it is not strange that we have constituents coming to us regularly saying the biggest fear they have is the postman's knock.”
“We should all be inside here hanging our heads in shame about how we are treating people. Just go outside the gate and the Minister of State will see Cara Darmody outside Leinster House again, highlighting a law that the Government has been breaking for over 20 years. What was the Taoiseach's answer to me yesterday?”
“I am sure the Taoiseach will join me in welcoming Christy Hussey and Conor Burke to the Public Gallery. Since this morning, a 15-year-old child has been sitting in protest outside the gates of Leinster House. Cara Darmody is highlighting the fact that the State breaking its own law.”
“It is reported that half of the women murdered in the Kingdom of Spain this year were killed by foreign nationals. Across the Continent, governments have opened their doors and lost control of their borders. When their own citizens stand up and take notice, these governments lecture them and call them far-right for calling them out.”
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Every one of 646 lines we hold for Ken O'Flynn, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 13.
“I thank my colleagues in the Sinn Féin Party who brought this motion forward. It is almost a carbon copy of the motion that was brought forward by my colleague in Aontú, a motion co-signed by Independent Ireland. I thank Aontú for bringing that motion before the House in recent weeks. There is merit in tonight's motion. The reality is that there are a number of disenfranchised people on this island who should be allowed to vote. However, there is a greater question, as my colleague, Deputy O'Donoghue, just mentioned. There are 500,000 Irish-born citizens living in the United Kingdom. There are an estimated 130,000 Irish-born holders of Irish passports living in the United States. In Australia, there are 80,000 to 100,000 Irish-born holders of Irish passports.”
“I want the Minister to take my hometown of Mallow into account. While we have a connecting link with the rail into Cork, we do not have an orbital bus. We have been waiting now for seven to ten years for a Mallow distributor road. If we had an orbital bus in the town of Mallow, it would help get much of the local traffic off the roads. Additionally, we do not have orbital buses in the city centre of Cork, which would allow commuters and the shoppers use it. I implore the Minister. BusConnects is doing a good job. It is trying to do a good job. I see the challenges when it is having its drivers in place, but we have to get orbital buses as well to service local population.”
“I rise today with a little bit of good news relating to my constituency in Cork. It is a red-letter day because we have just had information passed on to us about the development of the delivery of Tivoli, Dunkettle, Blarney and Blackpool stations. I welcome that. That will have a huge impact on my constituency across the north side. We have missed a beat when it comes to the Luas line in Cork. I see the project and the design that are there. There should be probably two designs. We are not connecting to Cork Airport, which is wrong. We are not servicing the north side at all. I appreciate that there are problems with topography on the north side, but the north side also runs from east to west, covering from Mayfield all the way over to Knocknaheeny, servicing the Apple computer business and all that.”
“I do not believe there is a properly funded local authority in the country. If the Government offered an extra €10 million or €20 million, the reality is a local authority would not refuse it. We are underfunding our local authorities continuously and that has to be addressed.”
“It does not make sense to me. Many people are struggling in large homes. They cannot downsize. They want to stay in their communities where they have family, friends and support but they are paying huge amounts of money on property tax for something they have already paid property tax on at some stage. Equally, there is a disparity in how property tax is collected. At present, local authorities retain 80% of the tax and the other 20% is pooled into a national equalisation fund to support councils whose LPT income does not meet the base line. In principle, that can be justified but the tinkering around over the past number of years by Department of housing, which conducted a review in 2024, leaves more questions than answers when it comes to local property tax. I agree with my colleague, Deputy Michael Collins.”
“People have always been paying into some sort of system. Many of these people are now in retirement, often living on their own and their incomes are sharply reduced. They have already paid taxes on their property and on the houses they built. Their heating bills or refuse charges have not halved but quite often their income has halved. There is an argument at this stage that anybody over the age of 65 to be exempt from property tax, in particular those that are dependent on a fixed income. Just because somebody bought something in the early 1980s or late 1970s for £3,000 or £4,000, which has increased in value - in places like Cork city houses that went for £4,000 in the early 1980s are now valued at €500,000 or €600,000 - their income is €230 or €270 a week, depending on what social welfare is available to them.”
“There are times in public life when a policy, however well-intentioned, by design, strays away from its original purpose. To my mind, the local property tax is such a policy. It is not fair and not a sustainable way of supporting local services. By its very practice, it is detached from the principle of equality and economic reality of many citizens. Let us speak plainly in this House. This exists today in our system and is a burden for some of our older citizens, men and women who have spent their lives buying or building their homes, raising families, contributing through work and taxes. In these cases, many, who have previously paid property levies in some way, shape or form prior to 1978, are suffering. In the 1980s, there were service charges in many local authorities and city councils.”
“This month's update on the M20 Cork-Limerick project outlines plans for a new tolled motorway, with a barrier-free, distance-based tolling system, stretching from Blarney to Limerick. I want to specifically raise the concerns of the communities of north Cork, particularly those in Mallow, Blarney and surrounding areas, who fear that they may be penalised for everyday local travel. Given the lack of viable transport and alternatives in the region, will the Taoiseach give a commitment to the House that no tolls will apply on the stretch of motorway between Blarney and Mallow? If he cannot give such a commitment today, will he outline what measures will be taken to protect local residents from an unfair burden?”
“Can the Taoiseach explain to the Members of this House how members of An Garda Síochána were deployed to recruit at IPAS centres, centres housing individuals many of whom have entered the State without passports or documentation and without verification of background checks? Some of these individuals may not be the vulnerable cases as the Government often portrays, yet gardaí were sent in and invited them to consider a career in Irish policing. The Tánaiste said this practice was not appropriate. Can the Taoiseach tell us who signed off on this and whose idea it was to draw a cohort that cannot be fully identified into the Irish policing force? Will he give a commitment to this House that this policy is reverted and stopped?”
“If we are to be a republic built on human rights and the principle of neutrality rooted in peace and not passivity, we cannot avert our gaze from alleged war crimes, starvation being used as a weapon or international law being disregarded. That is why, although I may not endorse every element of this motion's framing, I support it in spirit. I support the idea that Ireland should not support financial instruments that fund any destruction - destruction in Gaza or anywhere else in the world. This is not about choosing a side in an internal conflict; it is about choosing humanity over cruelty, law over chaos and peace over permanent war. If Ireland, small as it may be, can stand up in this Chamber and in the chambers of the world to say we will not fund bombs but we will fund peace, surely that is the leadership we need today.”
“We have seen cities flattened, hospitals destroyed and families buried beneath rubble. They are not just numbers. They are names, have stories and they are loved ones. Let us speak plainly in this House. The atrocities committed on 7 October were barbaric. Hamas carried out a brutal assault on innocent civilians and any nation has the right to defend itself from terror, but that right is not unlimited. We cannot justify collective punishment. It cannot justify the erasure of a people. Israel has a right to security, but the people of Palestine have a right to dignity, to self-determination and to life. Where does that leave us in this House?”
“There is a moment in public life that demands more than ideology. It demands conscience, clarity and, above all, courage. The motion before us, brought by the Social Democrats, seeks to express opposition to Israel's war efforts by way of economic instrument, by targeting war bonds and financial ties. As a centrist, I approach this and other motions like this with deliberation of mind and a steady hand. I do not believe foreign policy should be conducted by slogan or that Ireland's voice would be made stronger by shouting the loudest. However, silence too is a decision and as we face what we have seen in the past year, silence could be taken as complicity. We have witnessed a catastrophe unfold in Gaza. More than 50,000 lives have been lost. Many of them were children.”
“If in 2025 a Government cannot turn an empty house into a home in under 90 days, we must ask ourselves a question in this House. What exactly is it in office to do? What are we witnessing? What we are witnessing is not leadership. We are witnessing mismanagement, systemic, habitual and increasingly costly mistakes that are being presided over by a Minister with intellectual caution, a Minister run by a Department of administrators more interested in the optics than the outcomes. Ireland is at a drift. We deserve better. We need better and we need more than just empty slogans. We deserve a Government worthy of the challenges that this country faces.”
“I congratulate my friends on this and agree wholeheartedly that we must have a permanent, ring-fenced refurbishment beginning with budget 2026. We must end the spending caps that cripple local authorities to deliver. We must have a national standard of a 12-week turnaround period for vacant homes to come into use. Direct labour terms and procurement rules must enable us and not obstruct the delivery. There must be full autonomy for local authorities, no more delays and waiting lists and departmental greenlighting to fix the door of a council house. There must be a public register of vacant homes updated twice yearly to ensure transparency and accountability. These are not radical ideas by my friends; they are common sense ideas. It is what a competent and functioning Government would have already done.”
“We have already passed 5.3 million. This milestone was projected for 2035, not 2025. This growth is not a surprise. It comes with inward economic migrants and a sharp rise in refugee and asylum applications. According to the Department of justice there was a 290% jump between 2019 and 2024. The CSO projected 5.6 million by 2030. We are already nearly at that point. This type of demographic pressure demands clarity, a tough boldness and action. Instead we are getting delay, drift and dysfunction from this Government. Other countries and cities across the world face similar pressures, from Vancouver to Vienna. The difference is those countries are acting while we are hesitating. We are handing off responsibility to others. We are waiting until the problem becomes unmanageable and then we wring our hands in this House and we act surprised.”
“Some of their councillors have made spectacles of themselves online, in print and on social media by pointing the finger at the Minister today, at the council tomorrow, at the Department the next day and around and around again. I will not, and this Parliament must not, allow local government to be the scapegoat in all of this. I place on record my admiration and respect for the staff of Cork City Council and Cork County Council who continue to serve with professionalism and resolve despite being expected to deliver with one hand tied behind their back by the departmental Scrooge. They are not failing, as some Sinn Féin TDs have said in the past. They are instead succeeding in spite of departmental procrastination. We in this House must consider a broader truth. Ireland is ten years ahead of the population plan.”
“Let us be candid in this House. This government policy is neither centre-right nor centre-left, but it is certainly the centre of chaos. It has no ideology beyond inertia, no vision beyond the next press release and no instinct for delivery. It reacts but it does not lead. It is entangled in the process, paralysed by indecision and blind to the urgency of this generation’s housing emergency. However, let us not pretend those bringing forward this motion have all the answers. They have spent years shifting the blame from government to local authority and back again depending on which way the political wind is blowing.”
“We are not simply facing a housing shortage, but confronting a failure of governments, of planning, of priority and of moral seriousness. This motion shines a light on a scandal that should never have been allowed to become routine. There are 2,656 vacant council homes across the State. Nearly 800 of them have been empty for over a year while nearly 4,000 children sleep in tents on cold streets and the lucky ones sleep in emergency accommodation. The average letting time in a local authority is now 33 weeks for the turnaround of that property. The average cost of bringing that property into repair is €28,000 per unit. This has increased by 50% since 2019, yet central government provides just €11,000 per unit. That is a shortfall of €17,000. This is not policy, but dereliction that is expensive, bureaucratic and utterly inefficient.”
“I refer to a recent An Bord Pleanála decision to refuse permission for the development of 800 new homes in Cork docklands in the Taoiseach's constituency. The area has seen substantial investment, including commitments exceeding €600 million for the regeneration project. Would the Taoiseach agree that An Bord Pleanála's refusal to outline case 313142 undermines these efforts and hampers Cork's potential to deliver urgently needed houses? Does the Taoiseach accept that this planning rejection not only stalls the housing project but also sends conflicting messages to investors and the community itself?”
“We in Independent Ireland support any effort that protects and supports the rights of workers affected under employer insolvency but we also deem that administrative reforms are much needed in the State so that the Irish complacency with the European obligation is not something dragged reluctantly through this Government but is a matter of routine and professional governance and good governance. This Bill is a good step forward but let us not flatter ourselves in this House. It is a step taken too late - 17 years too late to my mind - and is too small by a Government that works too slowly.”
“While the amendment addresses for some the calculation of payment into the Social Insurance Fund, it does not address the deeper question of why we, in this country, are always legislating under pressure. Why are we, in this country, reactive instead of proactive? Where is the rigorous audit of State conducted in the delayed implementation of the European standard? As a centrist, we respect the values of efficiency and legal certainty and the respect of contract and obligation. On all three counts, this State has failed. This State has failed its workers and exposed itself repeatedly to legal challenge.”
“When an employer fails, it is not just a simple event or a simple business event. Wages are unpaid, pensions are frozen, and entitlements are contested. In far too many cases, it is only through litigation or European pressure that the State grudgingly moves to close a gap it should have anticipated. That is not governance. It is reactionary. This Bill, belated but necessary, and although it may remain a patchwork response to an epidemic diffusion of bureaucratic breakdown, provides the deeming of insolvency in a case where the employer enters into an arrangement while technically not insolvent. This is welcome but it is an indictment of how long the workers in this country have been left exposed legally through ambiguity and administrative neglect.”
“I rise today not merely to contribute to the passing of a technical amendment but also to underscore a broader truth the legislation reveals, which I am sure this Government would prefer was overlooked. At the heart of this Bill it seeks to strengthen the protection for employees where their employers become insolvent, and it finally gives fuller effect to the Directive 2008/94/EC. This directive was adopted by the European Parliament 17 years ago. Let us sit with that fact - it was 17 years ago. I put it to the Ceann Comhairle that the question before us is not just about insolvency arrangements but it is about the State's performance in regulatory delay and a creeping culture of legislation and legislative procrastination that has taken root under the Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, and Lowry Independents' stewardship.”
“When they say progress, I see failure. Where there are promises of reform, I see ruin. The one thing I have seen from this health service is that regardless of whether someone is a child, elderly or out there working, he or she cannot trust the health service any more. The health service in this country is sick.”
“Ireland pays out more in medical negligence claims per capita than almost any other EU country. More than €2.5 billion has been paid out already in this decade. That is more than any other health system the size of ours, and still there have been just a few resignations. There are no consequences and no accountability. When it comes to healthcare, it is quite obvious that Europe is moving forward while Ireland is moving backwards. We are the outlier of the EU in terms of cost, care and basic clinical responsibility. Let me be clear. This Government cannot be trusted to investigate itself. I welcome that there will be an independent investigation, but it must have statutory powers. There must be no redactions, no delays and no whitewashing. Many people on the Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil benches have spoken about progress.”
“To sit still while children are cut open without cause is not policy; it is barbarism masquerading as procedure. The nation watched in horror as more than 500 children, babies and toddlers were subjected to major hip surgeries without proper medical justification. This is not just clinical error; this is systemic betrayal and a violation of duty. The Department of Health and the HSE knew. They were warned by whistleblowers - we congratulate and thank the whistleblower today for that - but nonetheless, the HSE did nothing. The people the whistleblower went to did nothing. That is not just a failure; it is complicity. Earlier, the Taoiseach spoke about world-class health services and mentioned the children's hospital. Let me give the Minister a real-world fact.”
“This puts a strain on the immigration system here and the challenges of integrating a common travel area, which to my mind risks and undermines North-South co-operation and Border security issues. I ask the Tánaiste to outline the discussions the Government or his Department have had with their counterparts in the United Kingdom on this matter. What practical steps are being taken to protect the common travel area?”
“Earlier this month, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Keir Starmer, outlined significant changes in UK immigration policies, including tightening of visa controls, reduced post-study work rights and a longer route to citizenship, going from five years to ten years. While these are UK domestic decisions, they have a serious impact on us here in the Republic of Ireland, particularly because the UK still occupies part of this island for the moment. This is what I am asking the Tánaiste. We are hearing reports of asylum seekers crossing into the Republic from Northern Ireland, as stated by the British Government. The British Government has now said that it will not accept returns.”
“It costs her €80 a week to drive from Mallow to Blarney Street. What do I say to the person in Blackrock who is changing her father's diapers and is entitled to nothing due to her husband's salary? As my colleague, Deputy Fitzmaurice, said, what do we say to the person who has had to give up their home and move into the family home, and is entitled to nothing? I can say they should not worry about it because the Government – Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry Independent group - have decided to commission a survey that is going to cost a quarter of a million. What benefit is it to such a person? We already know the answers to the questions. The Minister of State should go into the AV meeting room and meet the carers groups. We must care for the carers. I will leave it at that.”
“Another Member mentioned the VAT rate. He failed to recognise that the cost of everything has gone up. Costs in the food industry have gone up by 40% so the Government's income from VAT is way up. I thank the Minister of State for the fact that the motion is not opposed. While I welcome it, we must get things done correctly. The Government is spending a quarter of a million euro on a survey. While it is not costed, the Minister of State's reply also refers to another survey on healthcare assistants. That will probably cost another quarter of a million. That is money that we could be spending on the front line. What do I say when I go back to the person in Mallow who sat in my office and said she was caring for her father and because of her husband's salary, she is getting a couple of euro a week from the Government to care for him?”
“Did the Minister of State ever think about going out and asking a carer what their life is like? Did she ever think about sitting down and having a cup of tea with somebody who is looking after a husband or a wife – who is washing them, feeding them and changing adult diapers? That is the reality of life. We do not need to spend a quarter of a million euro on a survey to work out what difficulties a carer has. It is all very well to say the Government is not going to oppose this motion and that it will let it go through. We had two speakers from the Lowry Independent group, who came on our side and supported us. Why were carers not put to the fore when they were negotiating the terms of the programme for Government? Some of them were too busy trying to get into positions of power rather than negotiating for carers.”
“I take a little bit of umbrage of what the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, said. Perhaps it was just a slip of the tongue when she mentioned the number of people who have spoken on the motion. The majority of those who have spoken on it are from the Opposition benches. Only two from the Government benches turned up for this debate, with the exception of the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, and the other Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell. That just shows what the Government thinks of this debate. It is all very well to say the Government will not oppose the motion, but in one part of the reply it states that the Department is providing funding of €250,000 to conduct a survey on mid-life and older women and their health and well-being.”
“These people are not asking for special treatment but they are asking for fairness and to be seen. Independent Ireland has brought this motion not to divide this House but to unite it. We have brought the motion not to shame this Government, although there is shame to be had. We offer a path of redemption and reform. Let us build a care system worthy of the people this State serves. Let us honour those who sacrifice daily for the dignity of others. Let us not speak of value but let us act on values. Let the history of this House record that on this day in Dáil Éireann we chose justice and compassion for the carers of this country and we chose the common good.”
“This is not a wish list, radical or utopian, but it is fair, affordable and most definitely necessary. Above all, it is right. The success of those on the Government benches will not be measured in press releases, headlines or grandiose statements. It will be measured by whether this State has upheld its duty to the people who gave their trust to the Government and the Minister of State. In the realm of care, we are failing the test of trust. I ask Members on the Government benches not to consider their whip but to consider their consciences. I ask them to think of the carer who has had no break for five years, the farmer on the verge of losing the family home because of long-term costs or the elderly man or woman waiting alone for support that will never arrive.”
“I therefore ask this House to act with urgency. This motion calls for clear responsibility and implementation of reform. We in Independent Ireland propose the abolition of the means test for carers, recognising that care is not a charity; it is an essential labour. We call for fully funded real cost of staffing, regulations and compliance. We call for an end to the pay disparity between the section 38 worker and the section 39 worker. We call for investment in recruitment, training, ICT systems and rural development, the establishing and fixing of the timeline of statutory home supports, the recognition of leased farmland being actively operated and the broadening of the definition of eligibility for family successor to reflect a modern Irish family.”
“Let us turn to the facts. More than 5,500 people are waiting for home support. Rural communities are disproportionately impacted. Carers are leaving the profession because wages are poor and the respect is non-existent. Let us consider this point. A HSE-run nursing home receives over €744 more per resident per week than a private or voluntary counterpart. This is not equity and not sustainable and it is a clear failure of policy. Perhaps most unjust of all is the treatment of leased farmlands under the fair deal scheme. Leased farmlands are not considered actively operated and the three-year cap does not apply. This means families face an ultimate financial burden simply because they choose to lease rather than sell the family farm. This is not just bureaucratic cruelty but a direct threat to the generations of family farming.”
“This is not because of efficient planning on the HSE's side or adequate funding, but because of the devotion, sacrifice and sheer moral strength of carers across this entire country who hold it all together. These carers, mostly women, often older and frequently isolated, step in where the State takes the step back. They do this not for recognition or reward but because it is simply the right thing to do. In doing so, they save this country billions of euro. What do they receive? They receive a patchwork of supports which are inconsistent and inadequate and simply unjust. We have means-testing systems that punish low-income families, a structural home support scheme that remains continuously and perpetually in development and a fair deal scheme that is neither fair nor dealing with the reality of modern Irish life.”
“There are few responsibilities more profound or revealing than how a nation treats the most vulnerable in its society. In our role as legislators, we often speak of policy in the abstract - budgets, frameworks, schemes, etc. Behind each one of those lines, however, lies something far more human - a person, a family, a home. Today, this motion brought by Independent Ireland is asking that this House do more than just debate figures. We are asking the Government to confront a crisis of care, a silent systemic failure unfolding daily in our homes and communities across this nation. Let us begin by stating what we already know. Ireland's care infrastructure, from the unpaid family carer to the overworked home support staff and the underfunded nursing home, is at breaking point. Yet, somehow and in some way, it still functions.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann: acknowledges: — the vital role played by carers and front-line healthcare workers in supporting older people, people with disabilities, and those with high care needs within their homes and communities; — the indispensable contribution of these workers in alleviating pressure on hospitals and long-term residential care facilities through early intervention, continuity of care, and dignified in-place support; and — the rapidly increasing care needs of an ageing population and a growing number of individuals with complex medical or support requirements, which demands urgent planning and investment; notes that: — carers, both paid and unpaid, are under significant and unsustainable strain due to inconsistent access to services, limited financial supports, inadequate staffing levels, and regional disparities in care provision; — the current structure of means testing for carer supports disincentivises care work, punishes low-income families, and fails to reflect the true economic contribution of carers to the health and social care system; — in 2024, the Health Service Executive (HSE) increased home support hours by 7.4 per cent compared to 2023, yet as of December 2024, there were 5,556 individuals on waiting lists for home support, with rural areas experiencing higher demand; — over 7,000 individuals receive disability home support, highlighting the service's reach beyond the elderly population; — currently, there is no legal entitlement to home support services, access is based on assessed need and available resources; — the expansion of home support services has been met with staffing shortages, particularly in rural areas, impacting the timely delivery of care; — failure to provide timely and adequate home support services leads to increased numbers needing to avail of the Nursing Homes Support Scheme (Fair Deal); — the average weekly Fair Deal rate has seen a 14.2 per cent increase in the last 2 years; — HSE-operated nursing homes receive significantly higher funding under Fair Deal compared to private and voluntary homes, with an average of more than €744 per resident per week than their private counterparts; and — with these financial challenges leading to many nursing homes closing, with the stakeholders citing financial viability as the cause; further notes that: — in assessing an applicant 's financial contribution to the Fair Deal scheme, the "three-year cap", which limits the contribution from certain assets, such as the family home or farm, to three years, does not apply to leased land as it is not considered "actively operated" by the owner or a qualifying family successor; and — consequently, the entire value of the leased farmland remains subject to the 7.5 per cent annual charge for the duration of the individual's stay in a nursing home, potentially leading to substantial financial liabilities; calls on Government to: — abolish means testing for carers to ensure equitable access to financial support, recognising the essential social and economic value of care work; — fully fund the projected increase in costs for staffing and regulatory compliance; — end the pay disparity between Section 39 and Section 38 workers; — provide funding for recruitment campaigns, training, Information and Communication Technology systems, and provision expansion; — provide a fixed timeline for the rollout of the statutory home support scheme; — recognise long-term leased land as "actively operated" for the purposes of the three-year cap; — allow for the appointment of a broader range of family successors, accommodating diverse family structures; — provide clear guidelines and support to farmers navigating the complexities of the scheme; and — provide increased capital and operational grants to community hospitals, residential care homes, and day centres, including specific provision for dementia care and disability-friendly infrastructure.”
“We cannot call ourselves a nation of fairness while knowingly delaying our children’s future. I ask this House and the Government to please invest in the future and not to leave our children behind. It is the only legacy we have in this House and the legacy going forward. It is with shame I stand here while we have to have this debate in the House.”
“We ask the Government: first, to fund the Cara fund immediately to clear the backlog now rather than in six months or by the next budget; second, to set without delay a national emergency of real public targets to comply and complete within the six-month timeframe the legislation requires; third, to deliver a workforce plan to recruit and retain specialists we are so badly lacking, be they speech therapists, psychologists, physiotherapists or behavioural teams; and finally, to fund the therapies and school places of these children who do not thrive. This is about more than legislation. It is about justice, decency and whether we are a Republic that stands by those who need us most or a Republic which turns away and uses the excuse of red tape. We cannot call ourselves a country of prosperity if thousands of those children are left behind.”
“This State is breaking its own law and, in doing so, it is breaking the trust of every family waiting in hope and despair. Many of those families have been in my office, on the phone to me or breaking the hearts of my staff. I spoke on the phone to one mother from Tipperary who told me that she is financing the special needs education unit in the school. She is paying for the training of the teacher because that teacher, who was put in place by this Government, has no training whatsoever when it comes to special needs. She is paying for the language therapy for that school in order that her child can be helped. We in Independent Ireland are calling on the Government to act urgently, honestly and effectively.”
“It is an absolute disgrace that we are here in this House and we have 15,000 children - our sons, daughters, nieces, nephews, godchildren and grandchildren - waiting because of this Nixon-esque Government. When the law does not suit the Government, it changes it. That is what Richard Nixon said. He said that when the President does it, it is not illegal. That is whom the Government is learning from. This Government wants to break the law yet again. I am sorry for getting emotional. Laws are being broken. More than 4,000 assessments were carried out last year. That is not progress; it is failure. These are not statistics but, rather, children - children with speech delays and children who cannot walk. These are children who are locked out of the supports to meet their needs and allow them to have a full life, a life of dignity.”
“I welcome Cara and her dad, Mark, to the Public Gallery, as many of my colleagues on these benches have. When Cara walked in to Leinster House today, I noticed that she passed a painting of Countess Markievicz and busts of Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese, women who have left indelible marks on this State. Cara’s name is up there with those great women who have left an indelible mark on this State. I honestly mean that. I wish that was not the case, however. A 14-year-old child should be at home meeting her friends, watching television, playing video games and going out and living her childhood rather than having to sit or stand outside this House to get what she needs as a child and for her brothers.”
“Has the CAT regime, in particular the inheritance tax, been reviewed since 1991 to ensure compliance with the equal status legislation? Will the Government publish all documentation and supports that do not infringe the breach of the constitutional rights of the childless citizen? If I leave all my money to the dog's home, the dog's home pays absolutely zero tax. Therefore, the chihuahua has more rights in this country than the childless citizen, or my niece or nephew.”
“This is not a hypothetical or abstract policy debate. This affects hundreds of thousands of people in this country. On 19 March in the Upper House, the Minister for Finance, Deputy Donohoe said he would address the fundamental points of discrimination. He also made the statement that it seemed to be constitutional, yet he has not provided any proof or legal argument and no documentation has ever been published by this Government or previous Governments to support that claim; there is absolutely none. I ask the Government the following - and I hope the Minister can respond with clarity and commitment on this: does the Government believe the current inheritance tax system is fair and equal in its treatment of childless citizens when compared to those who have children?”
“The system penalises the childless citizen of this country for the simple fact that they do not or perhaps cannot have children.”
“The hypocrisy is when childless couples and citizens face the reverse scenario, they are told to sit down, shut up and accept it and that is it and that they are less deserving and their relationships with their niece, nephew, siblings or lifelong friends simply do not count. The Government response so far has centred around a minor threshold adjustment spread over time but that does not reform or justify this and it is certainly not equality. A structural discrimination system cannot be fixed with a few tweaks of the job here and there. Is it equitable that parents like the Minister with two children can leave up to €800,000 tax free, while people like myself with no children or single persons or people who cannot have children can leave €80,000 tax free to loved ones? That is ten times less.”
“It is not because they have earned or contributed less to society but simply because they do not have children. In budget 2025, the then Minister for Finance, Deputy Chambers, increased the threshold of groups A, B and C in the inheritance tax bands, which may seem fair but the actuality is group A, the parents with children, enjoy a larger tax-free inheritance without increase while the increases remain untouched for those without children. Let us imagine if the opposite had occurred. If group A had been reduced to €40,000 and groups b and c up to €400,000, we could picture the outrage on the streets of Ireland of those parents, rightly so, because that would be deeply unfair.”
“I raise an issue with the Minister that has gone unaddressed in this House for far too long. It is a blatant discrimination built on the taxation regime targeted squarely at citizens with no children in this country. I ask her plainly if it is acceptable for the Government to oversee, implement and defend a taxation system that discriminates against people purely based on the fact they do not have children. Every day in Ireland, those without children are treated as second-class citizens under the capital acquisitions tax, CAT, regime specifically regarding inheritance tax. These individuals are prohibited by law from passing on the same value of their hard-earned already taxed asset to loved ones, as those with children can. Why is this?”