Laura Harmon
Industrial and Commercial Panel · Labour Party · Ireland
“There is not enough room for a wheelchair to go around the side of the building. There is no obvious proper entrance. The reception is upstairs. There is no lift access for anyone with mobility issues, buggies or deliveries. The classrooms are an irregular shape and are not the standard classroom size of 49 sq. m.”
“Her cause of death was recorded as “congenital debilities”. For many of those babies who died at Bessborough, the reason given for their death was congenital debility or marasmus, which was essentially starvation. The reason given for these babies’ deaths was often very vague.”
“I am speaking again about the issue of Bessborough in Cork city and to call once again on the Taoiseach to act on this. There is still time to do the right thing and to have a negotiation process with the developer now or, failing that, to look at compulsory purchase of this site. The burial records have been sealed in relation to this.”
“I thank the Minister of State for her response. Will she call for a meeting in person with the school? Could that be facilitated to give the school an update in person? Does she have an idea as to a commitment on the timeline?”
“Will the Minister of State provide an update on what has been done to progress the request for additional school accommodation for Coláiste Daibhéid in Cork city and a timeline for the project?”
“It reaches high standards academically as well as in sport, STEM and stewardship. It has fantastic students and they deserve better. At present, the school is on the edge of Douglas Street Campus on Sawmill Street. There are two buildings. One is Buckingham House, which dates from the mid-19th century.”
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“Due to the housing crisis many people are being forced to stay in living situations they are trying to escape from. It is important that be factored into the wider stream of things. I thank my colleagues in the cross-party group Senator Stephenson and Senator Cosgrove, and Senator Malcolm Noonan in particular because it was he who suggested we should reintroduce this Bill. I also thank the original signatories of the Bill, and in particular Senator Tom Conan, for initiating it in the first instance. Finally, I thank Senator Nicole Ryan for her amendment, which is going to strengthen this legislation hugely.”
“We must all know somebody who has suffered domestic violence. Women's Aid frontline services in 2024 were contacted 32,144 times. This was a 12% increase on 2023. It is great that we have these vital services providing supports. We need to ensure there is always adequate funding for these vital services, but the fact the figures are going up and up shows the worrying trend and the need for this legislation and these supports within our society. The helpline received 24,396 contacts last year, up 17% on 2023. Another statistic that struck me was that 33% of this abuse was conducted by ex-partners. Often, when a relationship has ended, the abuse and the horrors continue for those affected. Our housing strategy does not include an acknowledgment of domestic violence and how the housing crisis in this country is contributing to that.”
“Moreover, the next section will ensure the courts can have power to refuse bail and to take into account former offences. It is worth noting from the recent Women's Aid report that 44% of those who reported issues relating to this were not satisfied with the response they got from An Garda Síochána. The Bill also makes provisions for training and awareness-raising for gardaí, which is absolutely vital. I want to read into the record some of the statistics from Women's Aid. It is great to have its CEO, Sarah Benson, in the Gallery. We know 35% of women in Ireland, or one in three, will suffer some form of physical, psychological or sexual abuse from an intimate partner. That is a shocking statistic. These are our friends and often our family members or our colleagues. We will all know somebody within that statistic.”
“Sometimes the abuse can be hidden from people and the perpetrators can be very calculated. I urge everyone to support the Bill. We know that 65,000 contacts were made to the Garda last year, and many people still struggle to get the protections they need. In County Cork alone, more than 2,300 people applied for protection orders, yet only half of these were granted. The arrest rate for domestic abuse crimes was just 21% in west Cork, which is the lowest in the country. Being from Cork, I was struck by those figures. The Bill marks an important step in moving away from a one-size-fits-all approach. It will give greater discretion to the courts and prosecutors to respond proportionately to the complex realities of abuse and coercive control.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his comments today and clarifications on a number of issues. I hope we can make sure this Bill is enacted. It will have a huge impact on our society and on those seeking the protections they desperately need. This is a cultural issue. The Bill will not solve it. As my colleague Senator Stephenson said, it is a wider issue that is ingrained in our culture. It is part of the patriarchy. Domestic violence and abuse does not just happen within heterosexual relationships. It affects the LGBTQ community as well. Of course, it affects men and women, but we know from the statistics it predominantly affects women. Violence and abuse can be very varied. It can be verbal, physical, sexual, emotional, coercive or financial control.”
“It received 41,432 disclosures of abuse against women and 5,333 disclosures of abuse against children. That was a 17% increase on the previous year. This affects whole families and can have lifelong effects, as Senator Ryan so eloquently described, on the person experiencing domestic violence in the home. I was particularly struck by what the Senator said about its effect on future relationships, the issue of hypervigilance, having to monitor your surroundings and situations and living in constant fear or in fight-or-flight mode in everyday life. It is important we accept this amendment.”
“I thank Senator Ryan for her extremely powerful contribution. I am sure people watching will identity with that. She eloquently put forward how this impacts children and adults in this country. Gender-based and domestic violence is an epidemic in Ireland. It needs to be addressed and we need to seriously improve and step up to the mark in supporting survivors and those affected by it. That is what this Bill seeks to do. I will speak to the substantive Bill later. The Cross-Party Group is accepting this important and considered amendment. It will strengthen the legislation and it is vital that we accept it. I was struck by figures from Women's Aid published recently on disclosures it received last year. Its CEO, Sarah Benson, is in the Gallery.”
“People were made to feel ashamed in these institutions for who they were but the shame belongs to the State, the institutions and the perpetrators of these injustices and crimes alone. It is the State's shame only.”
“I just wanted to put it on the record again that thousands of people suffered physical abuse, emotional abuse, sexual abuse and mental abuse, were denied access to records and information about their identity, and were subjected to medical trials as part of this and, indeed, what I would call slave labour. This has contributed hugely to institutional trauma and to our national psyche. We need to have full and proper healing, respect and validation for all survivors in this country. Unfortunately, there are many not with us who will not be able to ever avail of this because they are no longer with us. It was a grave injustice that this happened. I commend the special advocate, Patricia Carey, on her work on this. I thank the survivors in the Gallery and my colleague Senator Victor Boyhan, who spoke so passionately and eloquently on this.”
“I I wanted to put on the record why I oppose the Bill. While it contains good measures, from my perspective and that of the Labour Party, we believe that anyone who spent so much as a minute in one of these institutions should be able to access redress, and those who were boarded out should be included as part of this as well. In terms of other jurisdictions, we saw mass trafficking of children from this country in the 20th century. Those who are living with this now, in the US and Britain, should not have to choose one payment scheme over another. They should not be put at a disadvantage in applying.”
“We need to ensure that this amendment is accepted as part of the Bill. I wish to put on the record my support for the survivors. Connected to this, I attended the commemoration at the Bessborough mother and baby home location at the weekend. We heard from other survivors who have been mistreated and traumatised by the State and religious institutions and orders in this country. It is an absolute stain of shame on this nation what we have done to thousands of people. It is a stain of shame on our history. We need to absolutely ensure that people have access to the justice they need and deserve.”
“Subsection (3) is really critical whereby "the Minister shall consult a panel of survivor representatives appointed in accordance with principles of transparency and independence". Survivors need to be part of this scheme throughout the process and into the future. I will take this opportunity to say that this is a moment in our history and a reckoning for us as a country. We must acknowledge the architecture of containment we had in 20th century in our society, how we treated people and how we subjected children, women and men - those in society whom we shunned; the most vulnerable - to subhuman treatment and slave labour. We must acknowledge the trauma that was experienced by these people and the intergenerational trauma and lifelong effects, which no scheme will ever be able to fully put right. We can only do the best we can, however.”
“I wish to briefly speak to support and second the amendment. I welcome the women in the Gallery. I thank them so much for being here. It is wonderful to have them here for this debate. I thank them for their continued campaigning and advocacy. I commend my colleague, Senator Boyhan, on his powerful contributions and advocacy on this. This amendment is extremely important because it is about follow-through and ensuring that we monitor and evaluate the scheme and the uptake of it, the range of supports that have been provided and given out and any appeals and complaints that may be received as part of this. It is extremely important that we evaluate the survivors' experiences of the scheme because we do not want to retraumatise survivors as part of this scheme.”
“It was great to see the Taoiseach there lending his support as well. I note that 923 children whom we know of died at Bessborough, as well as 31 women. Many of them are missing in the sense that we do not know where they are buried. It is very important that not a single shovel is laid down on that site and nothing is built upon it. It needs to be preserved as sacred ground. I absolutely support the calls from campaigners and survivors in respect of that. Bessborough mother and baby home only closed in 1998 so this is a huge part of our recent history that we need to reckon with.”
“I spoke to all Opposition spokespersons on further and higher education yesterday, and we will be joined by the Union of Students in Ireland, as well as students and their families. That will happen at 6 p.m. next Wednesday and I would like to extend the invitation to Fine Gael. If its members would like to join us, they will be more than welcome. Something needs to be done on this. Students have been let down in recent weeks. There was also flip-flopping in the context of the comments of the Minister, Deputy Browne, who stated there would be protections for student renters, but those protections were not introduced as part of recent legislation . The second thing I wish to address is Bessborough. I was at the Bessborough mother and baby home commemoration on Saturday and I was deeply moved by the stories from survivors and campaigners.”
“Perhaps this is something that could be looked at as it needs to be spent on educational purposes, and the cost of the €1,000 fee increase is estimated at €99 million. There has been a lot of flip-flopping on this issue. The programme for Government from six months ago states that the student contribution will be decreased over the lifetime of the Government. Starting with an increase of €1,000 is a very poor beginning. I will be the first person to commend the Minister, Deputy Lawless, if he can fight for this budget as Minister. Not everybody within the Government is in agreement. The Opposition will hold a protest at 6 p.m next Tuesday outside the gates of Leinster House.”
“I speak about two issues. The first relates to student fees. As we heard over the weekend, the Minister, Deputy Lawless, announced the intention to again increase student fees by €1,000 in the upcoming budget. I have been contacted by many students and families over the past 48 hours who are extremely stressed and worried about this and the lack of clarity in relation to it. We know from a study last year by UCC students' union that more than a quarter of students have gone to class hungry. We know that rents are rising. In Cork alone, the average rent is €2,200 per month. There is still a cost-of-living issue in this country, and we know it often takes families to put a student through college. I note at the end of 2024 there was an accumulated surplus of €1.8 billion in the National Training Fund.”
“This Bill is based on consultations conducted by the Government with disabled persons organisations and the disability action plan that was conducted in 2023. It will help citizens impacted by acquired brain injury and road traffic collisions, and older age cohorts. All of us could or would be affected by this at some point in our lives. The White Paper attached to the Bill examines how this subject is approached around the world, concluding with advice on how best to protect this right to a personalised budget. I fully support my colleague, Senator Tom Clonan, on this.”
“It is worth noting that we are going back many years where there were promises in relation to this, and it was included in the 2016 programme for Government as well. Ireland is legally obliged under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, with Article 19 entitled “Living independently and being included in the community”. My colleague, Senator Tom Clonan, said previously that we are 30 years behind the European Union and all parts of the UK in respect of disability rights. I was struck today again at the disability matters committee, where the National Disability Authority confirmed that we have the widest participation gap of disability employment in Europe. We are 20% behind the average of our counterparts in Europe. It is reflected over many different areas.”
“Persons with disabilities are entitled to the same rights as others, as per the UNCRPD and the European Social Charter. This amendment to the Disability Act 2005 intends to empower disabled citizens to live autonomous and independent lives in line with EU standards. It would also take away control from the HSE and put it back into the hands of people with disability and their carers. Last week at the joint committee, Bernard Gloster, the HSE chief executive, said that personalised budgets are a brilliant concept but difficult for the HSE to achieve. He said, "...by our nature as public services, still coming from a very paternalistic approach in terms of how to care for people. That is not always the best approach, but we do it from the best place.” This Bill would allow progress it take place in this area.”
“I thank the Minister for engaging with us on this. I commend the Bill and support my colleague, Senator Clonan. He has been more than reasonable and fair in requesting that the delay not be 18 months but that we could look to December of this year. That should be ample time to get this in order. I do not think anyone in the Chamber should apologise for showing emotion. I think the public likes to see our public representatives have humanity. This is a deeply concerning issue that affects so many of our fellow citizens. We all may need this legislation in the future as well. I support absolutely the right to independent living and the review that is taking place. There needs to be a dedicated budget office in each regional health area to support people with disabilities.”
“It is valuable to Ireland and the US, and we need to maintain that relationship. For any students who are going to the US on a J1 visa this summer or who are preparing to do so, my message to them is to stay safe but that it is also important that they enjoy themselves while they are there. I take this opportunity to wish the Cork hurling team the best against Dublin in a few weeks' time. All of the trains between Cork and Dublin have been booked for 5 July. I have written to Irish Rail seeking extra services. It has made some progress in that regard. We also need extra carriages on some trains. It is important that we consider the bus service in order to avoid as much traffic congestion as possible. It is to be hoped that we can do the same for the all-Ireland final as well.”
“The changes proposed by the US Administration regarding visas, including J1 one visas, are concerning. There is a proposal that authorities would potentially check back over five years of people's social media handles before they can be accepted onto the J1 visa programme. This is an unwelcome measure. It is intrusive and will have a chilling effect on people's freedom of expression. It is welcome that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste have made remarks against the proposal, and that the Tánaiste will raise it with the US ambassador. We need more than words; we need action on this. The J1 visa programme is key to the friendship between the United States and Ireland. Thousands of students have availed of the programme over many summers, and they contributed hugely to the hospitality and tourism sectors in the US.”
“That is why we had a protest outside Leinster House the other day. There will be a protest in Cork city on Saturday, attended by thousands of people across Munster.”
“There needs to be more joined-up thinking between the Minister's Department and other Departments. In Cork city alone, there are 36,000 students, and that is just in the universities. The figure does not include all of the other colleges in the city. They need to be supported, along with the families who are often putting students through college. There needs to be more support for students living in digs and for the RTB. More resources should be provided to the RTB to ensure landlords are registered. As I have said, the Government is failing in terms of housing. That is clear. New homelessness figures will be published next week. The homelessness figures, along with the rents and house prices, are rising. A whole generation is being locked out of home ownership in this country.”
“Why are students not being given the exemptions the Minister said he was considering? Why are they not being better supported? As somebody from Cork, I am concerned about students in Cork city because there are extremely low levels of purpose-built student accommodation there. Only 18% of the student accommodation in Cork is in public ownership, compared with 44% in Dublin, 56% in Limerick and 36% in Galway. This is shocking. I raised this with the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Innovation, Research and Science last week. We need a student accommodation strategy. I was told in January it would be available before the summer. It is now June and I have been told perhaps we will have it by the end of the year. That does not give me much confidence.”
“The Minister is welcome to the House. The way these measures have been communicated has been extremely confusing. Things were said at press conferences and in press releases. There were messages from the Minister and Taoiseach. This has been confusing for the public in general. The whole country should be a rent pressure zone in the long term. There is a huge missed opportunity in these measures to do that on a more long term basis. Many of these measures will mean that there will be rent hikes for many people across the country, including students. Senator Boyhan mentioned this. I agree entirely with what he said. I get the impression that the Government's policy on housing is often being made on the fly and on the back of an envelope, judging by the way this has been communicated. We need a rent freeze in this country.”
“This is obviously very welcome but as part of the delivery of that we need to invest in infrastructure such as roads connectivity, water and pedestrian facilities as well. Of course we need to invest in the tenant in situ scheme countrywide, with Cork as part of that. I will leave it there but I welcome the Minister.”
“I have come from the Raise the Roof rally outside Leinster House where thousands of people are calling for actions from this Government on housing. When we talk about infrastructure we have to mention housing as well. With particular respect to Cork, I was really struck by figures which I raised with the Minister for further and higher education showing that only 18% of the student accommodation in Cork is in public ownership compared with 44% in Dublin, 36% in Galway and 56% in Limerick. We need to focus on this and on the development of more housing in general. In March of this year the Minister for housing allocated funding of €35 million to build 234 units of social housing in Cork city and county.”
“There is an unfortunate overreliance on the car which leads to congestion and parking issues within the city. This is compounded by the huge driving test waiting lists we have in Cork. Over 11,500 people were on the waiting list the last time I checked and this is something that needs to be addressed by this Government. We have people undertaking apprenticeships and working in healthcare and education who need to be able to utilise a car to get from A to B, so that is part of the problem, unfortunately. Expanding cycle paths and the public bike network will be critical to improving our active travel infrastructure. Cork Airport is a huge asset to the southern region and needs to be supported and developed sustainably, along with Shannon Airport.”
“I welcome the Minister. It is great to have him here. I want to focus on Cork. The national planning framework 2040 anticipates that Cork will become the fastest growing city region in Ireland, with a projected 50% to 60% increase in its population by 2040. This increased demand must be supported by travel infrastructure. In order to decarbonise and create a more connected city, the Government must deliver more active transport and a stronger bus network. The publication of the preferred Luas route for Cork was welcome. The Labour Party is calling for shovels in the ground by 2030 in respect of this project. We do not want to see long delays. It must be delivered in a timely manner for the people of Cork. Over the past year, public confidence in the bus service in Cork has been at an all-time low in terms of delays in the service.”
“Ultimately, we need more of an investment in primary care, screening, testing and treatment capacity, with a particular emphasis on staffing in healthcare professionals.”
“We must expand this screening from the age of 40 to 74 in line with the European Council's recommendation on strengthening prevention through early detection. I commend my colleague Senator Cosgrove on the work and campaigning she is doing as regards breast density. There is a lack of awareness of the issue of breast density and how it can mask the cancer cells during screening. We need more awareness, and more work needs to be done to ensure that we are diagnosing people when they need it. We also need to have infrastructure and investment in diagnostic pathways, as committed to in the programme for Government. The Minister outlined in her opening statement that there is work in the pipeline in terms of the workforce in radiology. That has to continue so that we have the proper workforce in place to conduct these screenings.”
“We need to ensure that people get seen to on time. Another stark figure that was sent to me by the Irish Cancer Society is that those from disadvantaged backgrounds have poorer outcomes when it comes to breast cancer. Those from deprived backgrounds are more at risk of getting diagnosed at a later stage. We see that 83% of those in the most affluent areas are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 compared to 78% in the most deprived areas. This is a five percentage point difference. We know that cancer screening works. We need to expand it. Nine out of ten people are diagnosed at stage 1 or 2 via BreastCheck compared to just seven out of ten in outside screening. The scheme's attendance rate is in line with its target of 70%, but it needs to be expanded in terms of its age range.”
“I thank the Minister for being here for this important discussion. I thank my fellow Senators, especially Senator Costello for all of her advocacy and awareness raising. I am learning so much being part of these discussions in the Seanad. Like many others here, I did not receive any education through school on breast cancer, checking our breasts and what we need to do in terms of minding our health. When it comes to breast cancer, one of the most important things is getting seen to in a timely manner. Despite the fact that we have more than 3,600 people diagnosed with breast cancer annually in Ireland, which is a 120% increase since the 90s. Despite these high figures, one in four people is left waiting longer than the recommended time, which is ten days, at an urgent symptomatic breast disease clinic.”
“Imagine how it is for people who do not have their own homes to walk down the street every day and see these boarded-up, vacant properties. It has to stop. It is keeping properties off the market and contributing to rising house prices. Research has been done by Frank O'Connor and Jude Sherry, who set up Derelict Ireland. Within 2 km of Cork City centre, there are 700 derelict properties. This is a blight on our towns and cities and on our society. We need to pass this Bill. I thank Senator Noonan for bringing it forward today.”
“We absolutely cannot afford to have a whole generation of pensioners in the future who are renting. It is a poverty ticking time bomb. This Bill will form part of the solution to getting some of these properties onto the market and back in use again, so that people can live in them and make them their homes. Dereliction has an impact. Vacancy has an impact. It has an impact on how our societies grow, on people's mental health, on physical space and physical security as well. Dereliction is a form of vandalism in our society and it is an absolute kick in the teeth to people who do not have their own homes. I refer to the more than 15,000 people who are currently homeless and do not have a roof over their head or a home to call their own.”
“More than 80,000 dwellings were recorded as vacant with more than 20,000 derelict units scattered nationwide in the final quarter of last year. Some 3.6% of Cork’s housing stock is estimated to be vacant and 6.4% is estimated to be derelict. This is the fourth-highest percentage in Ireland. However, this is not the full picture because we do not even have a full register of how many properties actually exist in the country in general. That does not exist. We know from the 2022 census that there were over 166,000 vacant homes identified at that point. We cannot allow the hoarding of property to continue particularly in a housing crisis. There must be stronger and more significant financial penalties in place. I am speaking for a generation that is not only locked out of the housing market but locked into spiralling rents.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. I am pleased to support this important Bill from Senator Noonan. I am delighted that the Cross-Party Group is bringing this forward as part of our Private Members’ time this evening. It is important that we pass this Bill without delay. There has already been too much delay in terms of addressing not only the housing crisis but also the high levels of dereliction and vacancy throughout the country. I will speak in particular about Cork, where I am from. We see report after report but recently we saw a GeoDirectory residential buildings report which showed high levels of dereliction and vacancy in Cork and across Ireland with 10% of homes in Cork either vacant or derelict. These are shocking figures.”
“We need to use the strong links we have with the United States to make them take action on this. A total of 14,000 babies are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours if they do not get the aid and food that they need. I have a list of children who did not make their first birthday, journalists who have been murdered and healthcare workers who have been killed in Palestine. They are not just statistics; these are real people and real names. We have to do more as a country.”
“The revolution is being televised. We are being watched and history will judge us. We will be asked what we did at this time in history and what did as public representatives in this country to stand up against this genocide that is happening. We have power in this Chamber. We have initiated actions such as Senator Francis Black's occupied territories Bill. We need a date from the Taoiseach. When will the occupied territories Bill be enacted in this country? We need to pass the arms embargo Bill as well. To look away from Palestine is to look away from our own humanity as an Irish people. We know the effects of famine in this country. We know from science that it is encoded into our very DNA. To look away from Palestine and Gaza is to look away from ourselves and our own history as a country. We must stand up.”
“I thank my colleague Senator Patricia Stevenson for co-ordinating some actions by the Opposition today to highlight what is happening in Palestine and Gaza. Palestine is a mirror to humanity's soul at the moment. With every day that we do not act, the soul of our humanity is dying. We know that more than 55,000 people have been killed in Gaza. The song says, "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised", but the genocide is being televised. I want to be clear: resistance to barbarism comes at a cost. It is not free. We have to be brave in Ireland and we must stand up to the US. The humanity of the Irish people cannot be bought and it cannot be sold. It is not for sale. No matter what threats come at us, no matter what financial threats or tariffs come at us from the US, our humanity in Ireland can never be bought or sold.”
“Another area that could be examined in terms of third level education is racism. A survey by the Irish Council for International Students found that 63% of international students had either experienced or witnessed racism. Using the model of the consent programmes in racism training would be really impactful. It is really alarming that Ireland has the lowest disability employment rate in the European Union. We are 20% behind our European counterparts. Much of this has to do with education and training. I look forward to engaging further with the Minister and congratulate him on his brief.”
“With regard to targeting specific skills deficits, unfortunately we are exporting many teachers to places such as Dubai. We need to keep them here. We need to consider other skill sets, including in construction. There are radiography machines in Cork that are not being used because there are no staff to operate them. Therefore, radiology is another area that needs to be focused on. The higher education sector has identified that there was previously an annual funding deficit of €307 million. How has that been bridged? Where are we in that regard? Addressing consent and tackling sexual violence on campuses have been a genuine success. Over the past decade, in particular, we have had the likes of the Bystander Intervention programme in UCC, spearheaded by Louise Crowley. It has been really successful.”
“I welcome the Minister and look forward to engaging with him in respect of his brief. I congratulate him. It is great to see the work he has been doing so far. I want to raise a couple of issues briefly, the first being student housing. Funding really needs to be unlocked for the technological university sector. It needs to be allowed to borrow money to purchase and build purpose-built student accommodation. Also, we need to have a proper student housing strategy. I believe one is due to be finished in quarter 2 of this year. We will welcome seeing it when published. It is urgently needed. On apprenticeships, scrapping the fees would certainly be welcome, as would ensuring apprentices have a living wage, because we need to keep people in apprenticeships and in the sector.”
“We need to play a leading role again, particularly when it comes to Palestine and Gaza. We need to step up further. Part of that will be enacting the occupied territories Bill. It is very worrying to see the rise of the far right in Europe. I was struck when I visited the European Parliament last week by the number of elected representatives from the ultra-right and far right. It goes against why the European Union was set up in the first place, that is, to protect democracy. We need to guard democracy at all costs. The Presidency of the Commission next year is a great opportunity for us to highlight what important to us in Ireland in Europe.”
“We should be very proud of the role we played in LGBTQ rights in this country. We were the first country to pass marriage equality by popular vote, the ten-year anniversary of which is coming up. We paved the way for other European countries to follow our lead. We need to guard against any row-back of rights in this regard. It has been concerning to hear what has been happening in the UK on the issue around trans rights. We need to be proud of our record here of supporting the LGBTQ community but we also must recall that a former Senator of this House, David Norris, had to take a case against this State in the late 80s to fight for the decriminalisation of homosexuality. European laws and courts have played a huge role in shaping human rights in this country.”
“As mentioned, it is exciting that we are preparing for the Presidency of the Commission in 2026. Given that our Taoiseach is from Cork, it would be great to have some events in Cork as part of that when it comes around. It has been very worrying to see the move towards militarisation within the European Union. The purse strings are very much being opened when it comes to rearmament in Europe, but when it comes to other issues like the housing crisis across Europe and in this country, we are not seeing a similar commitment to investment. When Ireland was bailed out and when we had to apply for bailouts from the European Union, there were significant conditionalities attached to the money we had to borrow. We need to ensure there are no conditionalities on our neutrality when it comes to any investment in our defence within this country.”
“I commend the Government post Brexit in supporting students from the North of this island in continuing to participate in Erasmus. That is really important. We have many challenges ahead in Europe in respect of migration from wars and climate displacement, people being displaced as a result and how we how we deal with this. I want to see a Europe that supports these people who are fleeing through no fault of their own. It was an extremely damning indictment to see how Europe handled this ten years ago, when thousands of people drowned in the Mediterranean Sea when search and rescue operations were stopped. We will face these challenges again. I agree with Senator Murphy that we have an opportunity if there is a border poll in this country. I believe a united Ireland would strengthen our position within Europe.”
“The European project is a wonderful and impactful project that has contributed to so many progressive laws in this country in employment, human rights, women's rights and the environment. We must protect the progress that has been made and the rights that have been won and guard against any rowing back of that. Last week I was fortunate to visit the European Parliament with some of my Labour Party colleagues. We were visiting our own MEP, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin. It is very important we have representation across all groups in the European Union. We are proud of his work on the Socialists and Democrats grouping. He has also been appointed as rapporteur to the special committee on the housing crisis in the European Union. That is crucial. The Erasmus project has been incredibly beneficial to Ireland and to students in Ireland.”