Mairéad Farrell
Galway West · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Working people, whether unionist, nationalist or other, have been failed by partition because at the end of the day, a Westminster Parliament is making decisions on behalf of their communities. Irish unity has really got the potential to deliver for all of our communities, including those communities.”
“Is í an cheist ná céard go díreach atá chun tarlú anois. Cad iad na chéad céimeanna eile? Thug mé cuairt ar an scoil Dé hAoine seo chaite agus chonaic mé nach bhfuil go leor spáis inti. Tá sé le feiceáil go soiléir go bhfuil na ranganna riachtanais speisialta agus, ar ndóigh, an seomra ranga breise ag teastáil go géar.”
“Ar mhaithe le soiléiriú iomlán, ón méid a thuigim, bhí maoiniú curtha ar fáil don tionscnamh seo. Is léir go bhfuil sé seo ag teastáil. Cuirfidh mé chomhthéacs air seo. Is scoil bheag í seo i mBéal an Daingin, ach is scoil láidir í. Tagann daoine ó cheantair éagsúla chun a gcuid páistí a chur chuig an scoil seo.”
“I really welcome the decision by the Tánaiste and the Government to have these statements on the fiscal implications of a united Ireland. It is crucial that we continue with debates of this type.”
“That needs to change in the context of this debate because we are talking about a new and united Ireland that will include a new and different perspective on the opportunities that we see for us all from an economic perspective when it comes to a united Ireland When we are planning for this, we need to look at that in terms of the economi…”
“Without proper planning and preparation for Irish unity, we completely and utterly risk missing this seismic opportunity we have to create a new economy and seize this historic opportunity. It is absolutely essential that we begin preparations now.”
The complete record
Every one of 581 lines we hold for Mairéad Farrell, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 8 of 12.
“It is probably not the snazziest topic that really catches people's attention but if people realised the impact €22 billion can have and the way that money is spent, I think it would be quite a snazzy topic for people. What I do not understand is the concept of kicking this down for 24 months at a time when there is a review of the public procurement system going on. That is ridiculous in a sense because what the Minister of State is saying is that in the midst of a review where we have been told it is the time to consider a progressive reform of the system, this Bill is here to do just that. As a result of that, I think it should be considered. The fact that this has now been pushed back for a two-year period, well after the review will have been concluded, I would imagine, does not make sense to me either.”
“The 24 months in itself baffles me, to be perfectly honest. I have had this done to me on numerous Bills I have had. I have had it done with my protected disclosures Bill and my lobbying Bill, and now I have it with this. To be clear, I do not take Bills lightly. It takes a huge amount of work over several months. I think it took well over a year, maybe a year and a half, to do this particular Bill because when I put a Bill forward I want to do it right. Of course there are going to be issues that will have to be teased out on Committee Stage. That is the nature of it. Unfortunately, as Deputy Nash mentioned earlier, it is probably not the most emotive topic.”
“First, I will mention the survey results. The Minister of State mentioned that she dealt with the Dublin local authorities. I cannot remember - I would not say it in this House anyway - exactly who responded in what way but there was a very clear lack of understanding. I am happy to meet with the Minister of State and share my results in a way that shows her how little information is out there, not in the sense of trying to land blame on any person. That is not what that is about. It is more about the fact that the information is not there. The focus has not been there. That focus does, I think, have to come from the Government. It has to come from the Minister of State, in my view. To be honest, I am quite disappointed that the Minister of State will not be supporting this Bill, or that she is putting a 24-month stay on it.”
“I do not need to labour the point because the benefits of this are quite clear. I do not think there is any reason not to support this Bill. I will listen to what the Minister of State has to say and I will see what comes out of that. Sometimes, we need look at how things can be done differently and more simply and not just think that this is the way we have always done it and not change it.”
“If we are the biggest spender in this State, then we need to look at how we spend that money to employ people and get people on apprenticeships. For example, when I was on Galway City Council, we put forward and passed a social clause in terms of labour activation to include the apprenticeship model. That means for some young fella or girl who has decided that he or she wishes to do an apprenticeship, there is a big capital project. The Government is saying it is big into the infrastructural aspect and wants to invest in that space. No matter who is awarded the contract, a big capital project just up the road from that young person would give him or her that opportunity because of the labour activation element. This would ensure that there are not only the jobs but the apprenticeships.”
“As the Minister of State with responsibility for this area, I imagine she does not want to be answering questions about issues she was not aware of due to a lack of data and that she only ever became aware of because someone got a tip-off or found out the information some other way. It comes down to how we look at the money we spend for the public and economic good of our citizens across this State. Looking at different parts of this State, I think of areas like Donegal that are infrastructurally far more difficult to get to than others. Conamara is another example of an area with bad infrastructure leading out to it. We are trying to get private capital into these areas to get businesses started in order that there be more and better job opportunities for people.”
“In issuing external value for money reports and going about business as usual, I am sure some excuses will be found to oppose it. When I first got elected to the Dáil, I became my party’s spokesperson for public expenditure. The first thing I wanted to do was look at the issue of procurement. I met the OGP and looked into the issue. The first thing that shocked me was that we did not have the information. In the context of better public spending and everything else, this Bill makes sense. It also means that State bodies would have a lot more information as to what worked and did not work. We can always learn from one another. At the moment, we are relying on freedom of information requests or an investigative journalist to uncover large cost overruns or wasteful spending of public money.”
“This Bill would not even involve the Minister of State with responsibility for the Office of Government Procurement, OGP. As the Minister of State rightly mentioned yesterday, the OGP is not a regulatory body. The Bill would involve the Minister using his or her powers to have this report compiled. The Bill also sets limits so that contracts of a small value would not be included. Therefore, it is not creating some unnecessary administrative burden on contracting authorities. If the Government is serious about tackling wasteful public spending and the prudent management of the public finances, it should support this Bill. If the Government is only interested in staying on the old "lessons will be learned" merry-go-round, then it will not support this Bill.”
“Not only is it timely legislation, but we have a duty in this regard, given of our positions in this House. The Bill is not a party political one. It is a Bill that tries to get a certain amount of work done. I do not know anyone opposed to the concept of having more data on a €22 billion spend, considering the lack of any kind of concept of what exactly is going on. This Bill is compliant with EU directives, so there is no issue there. It follows on from some of the recommendations of the European Commission about using our public procurement system to promote industrial policy purposes. What those purposes are will depend on the Government of the day, but I cannot imagine the Minister of State would disagree that it is better to have such tools at her disposal than to not have them.”
“If the director of a major company asked the chief financial officer, CFO, for information on the number of contracts awarded directly last years versus the number that went to competitive tender and the CFO was unable to tell the director that information and only had data from six years ago, that CFO would not be long in the job. I am not equating the public and private sectors to the same extent. I am just making the point that we do not have that data to be analysed. I understand that the review of the procurement system was probably put in train some time ago, perhaps before Deputy Higgins was a Minister of State, but she is the Minister of State with responsibility for this area now. I hope she is serious about the reform that needs to happen and that we can work together on this Bill.”
“It is not published, presented or analysed in a strategic way. We are talking about €22 billion. We should be able to know what is happening with that money. There is an analogue approach to public spending in a digital age. While I hear great things from this Government about AI, the digital transformation and so forth, when it comes to a public spend of €22 billion per year, the most up-to-date report we have is from 2019. That was six years ago. I had not even been elected to this House at that stage. It seems nothing has changed since.”
“That just shows how much we are operating in a system where we do not know what is going on. We are operating within a black box system when it comes to public procurement. The situation currently is one of “No data, no problem”. My Bill is not going to revolutionise the procurement system. It would, however, provide a reformist Minister with an important tool of oversight with which significant reforms could be made. The laissez-faire attitude when it comes to public procurement in this State is hopelessly outdated. I drafted the Bill in such a way that a money message should not come into the equation. The information the Bill would like to see as part of the report is already largely being collected by the individual contracting authorities. It is just not being collected centrally in a timely fashion.”
“We have no idea how many of the contracts that concluded last year came in on time versus how many came in behind schedule. We have no idea what the most popular type of procurement procedure was last year, such as how many contracts were awarded directly versus how many went to competitive tender. How many SMEs won contracts? We do not have this information to hand. How many contained social clauses to promote some social labour or environmental objectives? We do not have the data on that. In the last Dáil term, I contacted a range of local authorities and State bodies asking them about their use of social clauses in public contracts. A huge amount of them did not know what I was talking about. Some responded to my survey saying they adhered to the minimum wage. That is the law; it is not a social clause.”
“People would be shocked if they realised that we spent €22 billion per year on public procurement and that the State was the biggest spender in the State. We have a responsibility when it comes to how that money is spent, not only in ensuring we spend it wisely, correctly and within budget, but in how it impacts on all of society. We know there is a money multiplier effect. When money is spent within a local economy, it can have an impact on that local economy. We always need to make sure we have that in the back of our minds when we talk about this. We do not have timely data on the number of contracts that ran over cost last year versus the number of contracts that came in on cost. We do not have the total level of cost overruns in big contracts.”
“I am here to work with the Government on these issues. I hope it is willing to work with me. There can be a reflexive attitude whereby the Government is unwilling to agree to things that come from this side of the House solely on the basis that they come from this side of the House. I hope that will not be the case with this Bill. What I have always said is that if the legislation is good, then it is good legislation no matter who introduces it and we should work with it. We are talking about the Transparency and Social Value in Public Procurement Bill 2024. The Minister of State and I discussed procurement yesterday at the finance committee. The Minister of State acknowledged that there were serious deficiencies when it came to data collection on the spending on public procurement.”
“I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This Bill comes at a timely moment, as I am sure the Minister of State will agree, when her Department has launched a review of the public procurement system. I hope this review will be constructive, that it is not just a box-ticking exercise and that we look at the nuts and bolts of this issue. How the Government deals with this Bill and the review will be really important. I have worked with a number of Ministers, depending on the Department in question. When I introduce legislation, I have always told them that I am open to working with them. I do not just complain about the issues I see. Rather, I bring forward solutions. I have introduced numerous Bills during my time in the Dáil, some of which have been accepted and others that have not.”
“The Minister will be aware of my own family's history in that respect, and the impact I would be concerned about in that regard. I have serious concerns about this legislation. As with all such legislation, my biggest concern is how they can be interpreted and used by future Governments. My hope is that the Minister would not use them in this type of way, and I assume he will say he would not, but we do not know what is coming down the line and its impact in the future.”
“That is something I am particularly concerned about. I am really concerned will look at clamping down on political activism and political protests. As I said, this is not necessarily about what I believe this Minister would do but rather what could happen in the future. Some of my colleagues mentioned the ongoing court case with Mo Chara. I understand the Minister spoke about it at length when I was not in the Chamber, so I might skip that part. The other issue, something the previous speaker and my colleague, Deputy Ward, mentioned, is our own political history and Irish history and how people are remembered. The use of language is terribly important in that. When we look at going forward and at peace and reconciliation, it is really important that everybody can remember their dead. I am concerned as to what impact this could have.”
“At the moment in Germany, there is a huge clampdown on political protests and political activism for Palestine and against the genocide in Gaza. Only yesterday a person was again arrested at a pro-Palestine protest in Berlin. We talk about moving towards European norms but we need to look at what those norms could be, and what impact they could have here on political activism on the streets by people who protest peacefully and stand up for what they believe is right. We have a history on this island with regard to the impact of people who peacefully protested. We do not need to look too far back in history to see the impact of what happened on Bloody Sunday, for example. I am not suggesting this legislation is the same thing, but I am talking about the impact any kind of legislation can have on peaceful protest.”
“I wanted to speak on this Bill specifically. One of reasons is that when we make new laws, change laws or look at legislation in this Chamber, it is not just about what I think this Minister, this Government or anybody in this Chamber would do. My concern always has to be what future Governments could do. That is an issue that needs to be thought about when we look at dismantling the triple lock. Even if someone at home believes this Government or this Minister would do one thing, we always need to look at what can happen in the future. As a result, I have serious concerns about this and the inclusion of what we have called "the Kneecap clause." I take what the previous speaker mentioned. He talked about moving towards European norms. I also come from the perspective of being half German.”
“My colleague Deputy Seán Crowe mentioned this was passed by the Oireachtas but has not been enacted. There is a strong connection for all Irish citizens with the President of Ireland, no matter who that is. They are there for all Irish citizens. All Irish citizens should be able to vote. What is the downside of letting Irish citizens in the North vote for the Head of State who goes on to represent them? I know the Minister of State is interested in outreach to the unionist community. They could also vote for the Head of State if they want to.”
“In the North, there is an incredible situation in which Irish citizens who live on the island of Ireland have a Head of State in the President of Ireland but are unable to vote for that Head of State. These citizens feel there is an othering of them, that they are somehow different and not equal as Irish citizens who live in Ireland and have an Irish Head of State for whom they cannot vote. That mad thing is they can be candidates for Head of State. They can grow up all their lives in the North, become a candidate in the presidential election, win the Presidency but are not able to vote in that election. This is about a direct line for Irish citizens to their Head of State. They feel the Head of State represents all Irish citizens but they do not have that direct line.”
“The most important thing is clarity. The Minister said the Department will do a job of work to analyse how this will be achieved over the lifetime of this Government. Will the Minister be able to publish that as soon as job has been done? For carers, being able to predict exactly how it will impact them over the coming years will be important. Carers do a huge job and save the State vast sums of money every year but they do it for the love of the person for whom they care. That love is at the centre of all of this. For an awful lot of carers, everything else in the lives focuses around this. For them to have that level of predictability would be very welcome.”
“The reality is there has been a real cut for the councils. There are two councils in my constituency, but if the Minister spoke to any of the councils throughout the country, he would definitely know this. He is aware of it and there is no way he does not know it. I ask the Minister to reconsider these measures. Will he reconsider the cut to the tenant in situ scheme funding? Will he reconsider the proposal he has, which will simply jack up rents? The measures are not working for people. It is not fair to people and people are really struggling.”
“There is no emergency accommodation in Galway city or county. People are told to try to self-finance alternative accommodation because there is no emergency accommodation. I want the policies the Minister is bringing forward to work for people because I cannot continue to have people crying every single Monday in my clinic in Bohermore. People are crying because they are facing homelessness and they do not know what to do, especially when they are being told there is no emergency accommodation. Nothing was more frustrating than when I saw the proposals last weekend. The Minister must know himself that the reality of his new proposals is that they will increase rent prices. He has to know that the impact of the cut to the tenant in situ scheme means it will shove more people into homelessness.”
“I heard the Taoiseach's remarks yesterday at the national economic dialogue, and I have to say never in my life have I heard such reality-defying words. He told us that fundamental reform was being delivered that was creating a sustainable housing system into the future. We have a Raise the Roof rally outside the Dáil today. If we did a survey of all the people there, and of all the people who were renting, they would disagree terribly with these words, which are so completely out of touch. The Minister has heard an awful lot of real-life stories from these benches today and I want to add some of my own to show how the policies are impacting on people. I will make one point before I do so. We need to deal with the housing crisis and it needs to get sorted for the ordinary people who are being shoved left, right and centre.”
“Dúradh linn ag an am go raibh sé seo ag teacht isteach mar gheall go gcuireadh sé leis an airgead atá ag comhairlí áitiúla, ach ar ndóigh tá a fhios againn go maith nach bhfuil sé sin fíor. D'aistrigh sé an bealach go raibh maoiniú á thabhairt go dtí na comhairlí contae agus na comhairlí cathrach. Níor chuir sé leis an maoiniú a bhí acu. Go rímhinic bhí mise amuigh i gConamara ag breathnú ar bhóithre. Aon uair a bhímse i dteagmháil leis an gcomhairle contae, an rud a dheireann sé liom ná nach bhfuil an t-airgead aige leis na bóithre sin a dheisiú. Tá na bóithre seo fíordhainséarach. Ní aontaím leis seo.”
“Sometimes I get slagged about it because I am out looking at different roads and people are asking me if I am an engineer suddenly, looking at these roads. All of these roads have serious issues. There is a serious impact on public safety when it comes to dealing with them. I contact Galway County Council and more often than not, the issue is that there is no funding to deal with those roads. We know our councils are hugely underfunded. Galway County Council is particularly underfunded. It is incredibly frustrating constantly having to go back to constituents and tell them the money is simply not in place. Tá fhios ag an Aire go maith nach bhfuilimid i bhfábhar na cánach maoine seo. An fáth nach gcreidimid ann ná gur cáin é ar an teaghlach. Cáin is ea é ar an teach baile atá ag daoine.”
“We oppose the idea that, in this day and age, someone should have to scrimp and save to get a deposit to try to make it out of a rent trap that has been set for so many, just so they can get a 30-year mortgage and pay off massive principal and interest, only then to be slapped in the face with another tax. I remember what the concept was when it was introduced. I heard the previous speaker describing all the fantastic things it funds in local services. It was a change that this was the way local councils were funded. It was moved over. I remember because I was in the city council at the time. I look at Galway City Council and Galway County Council and all the things they simply cannot fund. One of the main things I deal with in Connemara is serious issues with different roads.”
“The Government introduced a tax on people's homes, then worked overtime to increase the value of the property, only to have to introduce new legislation to reduce the tax it introduced. Despite this Bill, people will still be paying more because of the revaluations. According to the Central Statistics Office, property prices have increased by a national average of 23% since November 2021. Galway has been one of the worst affected places. Often when we talk about the housing crisis, we only hear about Dublin. The impact on people's lives in Galway is absolutely horrendous. According to one source, in 2024 alone, property prices in Galway were up 17% on average. My party has opposed the property tax from day one, as the Minister knows.”
“I thought the other Member would have used his time. I will get to my own speech. I would love to address some of the nonsense about my own party but today I do not have the energy in me to start a fight. I will stick to the speech I have. There is a bit of an irony in what we are doing in dealing with this Bill, which is to nominally but not effectively reduce the cost of property tax that households will have to pay. The Minister has to reduce it because the coming revaluations in November would have increased the costs. As we know from the protest outside regarding the housing crisis, house prices have now been driven back up to above Celtic tiger levels, meaning households would have to pay even more property tax. There is something symbolic about this.”
“It is extremely regrettable that when we have the power to change things, this power would not be used. It is particularly shameful when we have a Gallery full of people who have used their voices loudly and clearly on this matter. In addition to those who are here, there are hundreds of people who could not make it here today. That we are here in this Chamber and not acting on it is an absolute disgrace.”
“I think it was an Teachta Coppinger who said earlier that this means it is clearly not a safe place for a client, even though that is what it is supposed to be. There are often things in politics that you know will take a lot of time to sort, and you might ask if there will be a real-life impact, but this is a Bill that will have a real-life impact on many people into future generations. I just cannot believe that the Government is not looking to progress this Bill. To be fair to Deputy Coppinger, she said that if the Bill needs to go through committee - obviously it needs to pass through Committee Stage - and be amended, so be it. The Government has armies of civil servants who can go through a piece of legislation and see how it can be amended.”
“My friend told me that hearing those experiences and one’s own words coming back can put a person physically and emotionally back in the place they were in. This has severe effects on their mental health and can set them back severely. There can be a deep feeling of isolation as a result. That is something we could all comprehend if we were in such a position. My friend also mentioned, as did my colleague Deputy Carthy and, potentially, others, that the real fear is that people will not go to court or that they will not go to therapy in order to get the benefit they need from doing so. How easy is it to have ordinary medical records read out in court? In that light, why is it allowed in the case of psychological notes?”
“My friend also told me that it has a serious impact on the bond a therapist can have with the person attending therapy. That also has a huge impact if people believe that in going to therapy, their deepest thoughts, feelings, emotions and experiences can then be read out in court. It completely retraumatises a person if their deepest thoughts, experiences and emotions can be read out in court. I am sure the Minister of State can think of an experience where he has shared his deepest feelings and thoughts with a friend or family member, thoughts that are deeply traumatic. Imagine then that friend or family member taking notes that could be subsequently read out in a courtroom full of strangers. I hope he fundamentally agrees that such a situation would be extremely difficult, especially when we are talking about cases involving rape.”
“She told me that it takes such strength for people to come to therapy in the first place. No matter the issue a person is going to therapy about, it takes a huge amount of courage and strength to go to there. While it may be becoming more common in this State, it is a relatively new thing. In a situation where rape has occurred, it is particularly difficult to go to therapy and speak to someone. She also told me that the therapy is based on the concept of confidentiality. That has long been the fundamental concept of therapy. How can someone heal properly and fully if they feel they cannot speak fully about the experiences and their detrimental impact on their mental health? If people feel they cannot express themselves and outline their experiences in full, it slows the therapy process and can derail it entirely.”
“I welcome those in the Public Gallery to Dáil Éireann. I am sure Deputy Coppinger will agree that the reason we are all here is thanks to the activism and the loud voices of the people who are in the Gallery, as well as those who, unfortunately, were not able to be here today. I thank the Deputy for bringing forward this Bill. Hers has been an incredibly strong voice on this issue in the Chamber. This is the type of issue she has championed and continues to champion. It is really horrific when we consider what we are talking about and what this Bill is trying to rectify. It is incredibly difficult, if I am honest, to put into words what I wish to say. I decided to speak to a friend of mine who is a therapist. She understands the practicalities of this issue and the impact it is having on her work and the people she meets.”
“Can we also look at those areas that are really behind in that sense? I will make one quick last point. The Minister of State stated that the average duration of power outage experienced in Ireland is usually far shorter and far less widespread. The problem is in Connemara it is too regular an occurrence.”
“Then the Minister of State referred to the need for power backup for mobile and fixed networks being informed by a prioritisation exercise, for both network assets and services, as well as the potential for other types of networks to temporally fill a service void, and the example given is using satellite services to provide emergency cover. Can we make sure those satellite services are in the health centres? Will the Minister of State bring that point back to the Minister and to the Department? Regarding the prioritisation exercise and another mention of prioritisation in the Minister of State's response, can we make sure in those most vulnerable areas that we are looking at updating the vulnerable customer list? That was an issue during Storm Éowyn. It was not really working.”
“The Minister of State said that given the liberalised and privatised nature of the communication sector across both fixed and mobile networks, it is primarily for network operators to make the necessary investment to improve their networks’ resilience. The problem for an awful lot of people is they contact their network provider but it is doing absolutely nothing. What can we do to hold these network providers to account or get them to put that investment in? I am not sure that investment will happen and that is a key issue of concern for me.”
“Yes, the Minister of State was getting to the most interesting part there. I am happy with this response because I feel like something is being taken seriously. I understand the Minister of State is not over this particular Department but I will ask him to bring back a few things and also for a number of clarifications on this. There are a few interesting things. At the end of the day, I do not want this to continue happening in Connemara so I welcome anything that can be done and any kind of plan that can be put in place, especially given the vulnerability of people when they cannot contact their local health centre or the ambulance.”
“We also have health centres that are still losing their phone lines. If a health centre does not have a phone line, there is no way of contacting the hospital or an ambulance in the case of a health emergency. At the time of Storm Éowyn there was a call for generators for these health centres and also for the provision of satellite phones.”
“She told me there are six houses on the road and an awful lot of elderly people living on that road, and their panic buttons are not working. She said on that same road during Storm Éowyn they had the following experience. The Minister of State will remember that in parts of Connemara TETRA was not working and one could not ring 999. Among these six houses there was a woman who needed an ambulance and oxygen. Her neighbours had to travel to get a mobile phone signal so they could ring an ambulance. These really serious issues continue to affect an awful lot of people across Connemara but there does not seem to be any plan in place to fix them. Nobody expects it to happen overnight; it is clear there are basic infrastructural deficits. There does not seem to be a plan of action coming from the Government, however.”
“After Storm Éowyn there were clear calls for generators to be put in place at those water pumps. Does the Minister of State know what the story is with that? Obviously, people being without water is a serious issue. That kind of thing cannot continue. A family who live outside Oughterard, which is not far from Galway City, were in touch with me. They were 95 days without a phone line after Storm Éowyn. The most shocking of all was an email I got from a woman last Friday. She is trying to help her elderly neighbour. This man lives alone in a very rural part of Connemara and his phone line has only worked for three weeks since last November. The phone is a lifeline for somebody like that. We are talking about people who have panic buttons not being able to use the panic button or a phone.”
“What has the Government done in terms of engagement and direct contact with these companies recently? This is an ongoing issue. Has there been any accountability? What kind of accountability can the Government actually give? The problem is that since Storm Éowyn there have been consistent power outages, even in May and June. I regularly hear on Raidió na Gaeltachta and from constituents about people who have no power for 12 hours at a time during the summer months. There have been consistent power outages. One woman who lives in the Ballyconneely area contacted me this week. Her power has gone ten times since October. It is not just her electricity; her water is impacted because the pump needs power to operate. She has no water when there is a power outage. It has happened ten times since October.”
“This is not a Topical Issue that I wanted to bring to the Dáil but it relates is an ongoing situation over a number of months. I am disappointed it had to get to this point. It is very clear that six months after Storm Bert and Storm Darragh, and five months after Storm Éowyn, there is no plan from the Government on how to deal with the infrastructural deficit that has had a huge impact across Connemara. I totally understand that we could not have anticipated the impact Storm Éowyn was going to have. The problem for people across Connemara is it was not something new. Storm Bert and Storm Darragh had a serious impact on that whole area. After Storm Darragh there were people without phone coverage and broadband for weeks, with limited, if any, contact from their network providers.”
“Dá bharr sin, teastaíonn guth láidir uainn. Nuair a bhreathnaíonn muid ar na figiúirí anseo ón dream a ghlac páirt sa suirbhé, dúirt 93% acu go bhfuil an iascaireacht níos measa anois sa Stát ná mar a bhí sé deich mbliain ó shín. Is rud mór é sin le rá. Tá roinnt acu a dúirt nach gcreideann siad go mbeidh a gcuid páistí in ann í a dhéanamh. Ag breathnú ar an gcuóta, ní leor é. Feiceann muid go bhfuil na báid mhóra seo ag teacht ón Fhrainc agus ón Spáinn agus gur féidir leo siúd iasc a fháil ón fharraige atá mórthimpeall orainn. Bíonn muid agus an tAontas Eorpach i gcónaí ag caint faoi athrú aeráide. Cé gur rud fíorthábhachtach é sin, ní dhéanann sé ciall ar bith go bhfuil na báid mhóra in ann teacht ón Fhrainc agus an Spáinn. Níl sé sin go maith don athrú aeráide.”
“Léiríonn an suirbhé, i bhfocail na bpobal iad féin, cé chomh deacair is atá sé a bheith ag iascaireacht faoi láthair. Dúirt duine amháin a ghlac páirt sa suirbhé: I am a fisherman from a fishing family involved in fishing and [fish] processing for over 100 years. I have 4 young children. To steer them towards fishing now would be to stifle them for the rest of their lives. It is frightening to see what bad politics and bad politics alone can do to a once thriving industry. Is dócha, nuair a bhreathnaíonn tíortha eile ar Éirinn, is é an rud a thagann chun cuimhne i gcónaí ná gur oileán muid. De bharr gur oileán muid, shílfeá go mbeadh muid agus na pobail in ann slí beatha a bhaint amach as an iascaireacht, as an gcósta agus as an bhfarraige sin. Mar gheall ar dhrochchinntí, áfach, ní féidir é sin a dhéanamh a thuilleadh.”
“Is é seo an chéad uair atá deis agam comhghairdeas a ghabháil leis an Aire Stáit as a phost agus a ról nua. Guím chuile rath air sa phost seo. Is í an fhírinne ná go dteastaíonn guth fíorláidir uainn. Teastaíonn sé ó na pobail atá ina gcónaí ar an gcósta agus ó na pobail ar fad a bhfuil baint acu leis an iascaireacht. Ní raibh an guth sin acu cheana agus is í sin an fhadhb a bhí ann i gcónaí. Caithfidh muid é sin a athrú. Tá súil agam go mbeidh an tAire Stáit in ann é sin a athrú. Tá a fhios agam go mbeidh sé i Ros an Mhíl amárach. Tá togra mór i gceist leis sin agus tá súil agam go mbeidh sé in ann é a bhrú ar aghaidh mar tá sé ag teastáil go géar. Tá mé anseo chun labhairt ar an suirbhé a rinne mo chomhghleacaithe, na Teachtaí Pádraig Mac Lochlainn agus Conor McGuinness.”
“We cannot have political choices that do not enable us to do everything we can to support the people of Gaza and to stop this genocide from happening. We need to do everything. If these bonds which are being facilitated are financing the war, as has been said by the Israelis themselves, we should not be dealing with them in any shape or form. This is the second time this matter has come before the House. It will also be discussed at the finance committee today. We need to see action on it because we cannot continue the way it has been going.”