Maria McCormack
Labour Panel · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I thank the Minister for coming in. I note that the aim of this Bill is to take the current eligibility criteria for social housing and put them on a statutory footing, and to create a new appeals mechanism for those refused access to social housing.”
“While Sinn Féin wants flexibility in the planning rules to allow families to provide freestanding extensions in back gardens for family members, we do not support allowing these structures to be rented out, nor do we support denying people tenancy rights and protections when they are renting them out.”
“Given the complex legal issues involved in appeals such as legal residency, habitual residency and social housing support, it would have been better to have a single, independent appeals office located in the Housing Agency similar to how social welfare appeals operate.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. This Bill comprises a long, technical and complex series of amendments to the Planning and Development Act 2024. It is unfortunate that it is being rushed through the Houses at breakneck speed and without proper scrutiny.”
“The Minister can talk about viability all he wants but, really, all he is doing is making these developments more profitable while reducing living standards. It will not help to increase supply or bring down prices.”
“Many people living in Graiguecullen are asking the simple question, "What problem is this scheme actually trying to solve?" Residents are worried that a €3 million project could reduce road capacity, increase congestion around schools, make life more difficult for old people and people living with disabilities and negatively impact local…”
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“I would love for there to be a way this Bill could be paused and that we could go back to the drawing board and think about the impact it is having. I acknowledge that Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael want to make a difference and help renters and I do not stand in this Chamber and give out for no reason but I have been listening day after day to people telling me about the fear they have about this and I am really worried. I have no answers for them except to say I am sorry but they are being thrown under the bus with this legislation because I cannot say that their rent is not going to go up. Someone who is struggling really cannot afford that extra €1,000, €2,000, €3,000 or €4,000.”
“I asked what was the main reason people are distressed and they replied it was due to the cost of living. People are terrified. I hope we can get some answers because they are watching. They are looking to see leadership here and for some kind of answers that will speak to the real people, the people who cannot afford to heat their houses or pay their rent or electricity bills. An electrician rang me when I was on my way here this morning and told me that the roll of wire with which he is going to wire houses - it might take him 40 rolls of this wire to wire a house - used to cost €120 but now costs €240. We are dealing with levels of inflation. This does not relate directly to housing but everybody is absolutely stretched.”
“We have a lot of rentals in the second hand sector. A tenant may be paying an historical rent of €900 but from 1 March, that rent will just shoot through the roof. Those people are really worried. I cannot keep up with the demand and the number of calls coming into my office and I do not know what to say to them. The rent will go up and there is the food poverty. I attended a meeting of the social protection committee this morning and listened to statements from MABS and the Citizens Information Board. There is poverty and increasing numbers of people are coming in to them with cost-of-living and energy poverty queries. There are millions. They do not know what to do. This is having an impact and 20% of their overall calls are from people who are distressed.”
“There are lots and lots of ideas being put forward by the Opposition and every time they are put forward they are just put back. Even when we have simple amendments just asking for collaboration to please generate a simple report to share with the public on the impact this will have on the rental market, even that cannot even be accepted. I do not know; I am running out of words. I understand this is not the Minister of State's brief but I hope he can give me some kind of a clear answer as to why the hell a report could not be generated and why those amendments could not be accepted. We could have come in with many more amendments. People in County Laois will suffer much more from rent reset to market values. We do not pay anything near the market value in a lot of cases because we do not have a lot of apartment blocks.”
“We have seen all of the rent organisations come out against this Bill and tell us how concerned they are. We have seen the Simon Communities in Ireland come out and tell us of the detrimental impact this will have. We know the homeless figures are going up and up. They say the higher the rents are, the more impact they will have, with more homelessness and more women and children in homeless hubs. We do not have enough facilities for them. We do not have enough social and affordable homes. We know there are better options. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin has brought forward lots of detailed plans, including 114 pages of a housing plan that details and sets out ways to improve the housing crisis. It was said in this Chamber last week that Sinn Féin does not have ideas.”
“We just want to make sure that there are options for this to be reviewed, for reports to be generated and for us to be able to discuss the impact this is having on people. For people in Laois, rents are possibly going to go up by €3,100 a year. We know that people absolutely cannot afford it. Anyone going to third-level education has to leave the county. For 90% of the time students are not getting a six-year secure tenancy. We know how much these young people are going to suffer. We know how many of them need to emigrate because they cannot afford to rent or buy a house here. We are simply asking that there would be some review mechanism for the damage this is doing because big landlords benefiting from this will not sit well with the general public.”
“1 states: Within three months of passing of this Act, the Minister shall lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report setting out the impact of the "market rent reset provision" contained in section 8 on rental inflation in the private rental sector. I cannot understand what would be wrong with agreeing to show us a review of this. Amendment No. 2 states: Within three months of the passing of this Act the Minister shall lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report setting out the impact of this Act on rental inflation for student renters in both the private and rental sector and the Student Specific Accommodation sector. We are just asking for reports. We feel that this is being pushed through and we are listening to people on the ground telling us the impact it is going to have.”
“I hear an awful lot about the security of tenure and that people will have security of tenure for six years, but I just cannot get my head around how that will work when people just cannot afford the rent. The facts are there that normal tenancies are only lasting three and a half years, so it will be reset every time someone moves out and really this six years provision does not matter a damn. I am bearing in mind that the Government has the majority and the Bill will get pushed through but our amendments are just asking for reports. I really cannot understand how it would not be acceptable. Amendment No.”
“I will keep it to the amendments we are discussing at the moment. We do not agree with this legislation. We do not agree with something that will bring up the price of rent for people who are already to the pin of their collar. When we discussed this legislation at the housing committee, even when we had the experts in, a large number of typos had to be corrected. It was described as the most confusing legislation to have come before us. There are so many different categories of rent for so many different people. If the experts cannot understand it, how are we supposed to understand it and how is the regular renter out there supposed to understand it?”
“I would like to see the HSE arrangement at Droimnin made permanent. The State must play a bigger role in providing nursing home care because privatisation has not worked out. I would also like us to invite the Minister for Health to the Seanad for an update on what action has been taken since the serious concerns were raised last year because much of them concern my constituency and many people were very alarmed by what they saw. We need to know what measures are in place to prevent further harm and distress to nursing home residents and their families.”
“Another facility in Laois has been highlighted since last year, namely, Droimnin Nursing Home in Stradbally. Its HIQA inspections showed it was non-compliant with eight regulations and only compliant with two. Last September, an application was made to have its licence cancelled. Finally, a couple of weeks ago, the judge cancelled Droimnin Nursing Home's licence on the grounds that the lives and welfare of residents were at risk and the HSE took over operations and management from 2 p.m. that day. I welcome the HSE's involvement here. It brought peace of mind to residents and their families by ensuring continuity of care. However, I would like to point out that if the HSE ran more nursing homes in the first place and if the State stopped relying so heavily on the private care sector, we would not be in this mess.”
“I pay my respects to former Senator and councillor Larry Butler, a respected local figure. Many who knew him, including all political colleagues and local residents, tell us he was a complete gentleman who was kind and always ready to help. Our thoughts are with his family and colleagues in Fianna Fáil. I also pay my respects to a young man named Evan Power from Portarlington in County Laois who sadly passed away unexpectedly. Evan was a fantastic advocate for disability rights, a member of our local branch of the Irish Wheelchair Association and a regular visitor to Leinster House. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam. Today, I again raise the issue of nursing homes. Last year, "RTÉ Investigates" revealed issues in an Emeis nursing home in Laois highlighting the undignified and unsafe practices that were putting residents' lives at risk.”
“It will be ordinary workers and families struggling to keep a roof over their heads who will be caught up with their earnings each month and will have to cough up more in line with silky pockets of pure greed. What is this Government doing standing with it here today? Is legislation going to freeze rents? No. We should be seeing budgets each year that will increase spending to accelerate building social and affordable homes. That is what this country needs. It does not need more money for landlords and developers. Sinn Féin will continue to oppose this rent hike Bill in the Seanad and the Dáil. I am absolutely disgusted. This is a really sad day - doomsday - coming on 1 March. The Minister should be hanging his head in shame.”
“We can stand in here and clap one another on the back. There is nothing for the Government to clap itself on the back here. In this House and the Dáil, legislation is being rushed through without proper time for consideration. We have a real problem with this one here. This is how bad legislation and mistakes are made. Why are we having to deal with this Bill at all? The answer is quite simple. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Healy-Rae and Lowry Independents are on the side of big landlords, vulture funds and giant profit-making developers. There is no balance there. It is top heavy. Those profiteering from the housing crisis will be the only ones who will benefit here again, as they did with the tax breaks.”
“These are private rental properties, meaning that 37% of the social housing list in Laois is at the mercy of private landlords. We know that slow delivery of social and affordable housing has forced low-income households into being heavily reliant on the private rental market. If any those tenancies receive an eviction notice - more and more are, now that the landlords are seeing the great thing the Government is doing for them on 1 March - because no-fault eviction rules still allow small landlords to sell under certain circumstances, what then? The Simon Communities in Ireland have warned us that high and unaffordable rents are a direct driver of homelessness, yet when we are in government, we do not need to listen to the Simon Communities, and we do not need to worry about homeless figures.”
“According to the Residential Tenancies Board, the average tenancy is three and half years. However, we are not listening to that part. We do not need to listen to the Residential Tenancies Board when we are in government. We just make our rules. A quarter of all tenancies registered annually are new first-time tenancies. What is going to happen to them? Market reset. If someone is a landlord or vulture fund, they can do what they want to me if I am a renter. We can conclude that, within a matter of months, up to 60,000 tenancies could be affected each year. Within four to six years, the majority of private renters will be captured by this reset to market rent. There are 507 households in Laois in receipt of the housing assistance payment, HAP.”
“As things stand, the current rule for setting rents is when someone moves out and another tenant moves in, the new rent is based on inflation or 2%, whichever is lower. The Bill will mean that from the beginning of the March, when a tenant moves out and another moves in, the landlord in most cases just resets the rent to the market rate at the start of that tenancy. I am just saying this loud and clear so that the Minister understands what he is doing to the rental market and families who are already suffering. They cannot buy a house. There is not enough social and affordable housing. Deputy Eoin Ó Broin has clearly stated the clear alternatives here, but the Government refuses to listen. It can back bite and back bite at Sinn Féin but it refuses to listen to the clear plans that we put forward.”
“Government Senators might listen to the real people on the ground rather than try to come in and slate Sinn Féin. Opposition party after Opposition party has told them where the problems are. They are in government. They are responsible for this. They are responsible for people sleeping on the streets and people in homeless hubs. How can we say that Fianna Fáil is doing everything it can to fix this homelessness crisis when every single month we see housing and homelessness figures increase? We have women and children who are in homeless hubs and cannot get out of them. This Bill is going to rents more. It is having an absolute laugh. It is another dizzying piece of legislation that will do nothing to fix a broken housing system. At the very heart of this legislation is the reset to market rent.”
“This is going to raise rents for people in Laois. This is going to raise rents by €3,100 per year. What are these people supposed to do? They are coming into my clinics every single week and they are saying to me that they cannot afford the rent, and that is if they can even find a place to rent. What is the Bill going to do for them? There is nothing good that we can say here beyond it is okay, there will be a reset to market rent and it will not happen again for six years. For a rent who may only be paying €900 because they are in an historical rent agreement, does the Minister think any landlord is going to say they will not reset to market rent now that the Minister has just given them a free pass through legislation to put it right up to the market rate? It is absolutely throwing renters under the bus.”
“There is nothing good that this is going to do for rent or renters in this country. Most tenancies, if the Minister is aware, only last three and a half years. This is the information that we know. We see cases of eviction coming in and out of our offices day after day at the moment. The Minister said this Bill was "finely balanced", but balanced where? It is absolutely top heavy. It is only looking after landlords and vulture funds. What about the regular renters? They cannot find a place to rent. The Minister said it was going to address how they "rent due to a lack of supply, as well as the issue of affordability." How in the name of the Lord is this going to sort out affordability when all it is going to do is bring up the price of rent? I actually think we are living on totally different planets here.”
“I am going to take some points from the opening statement and ask some questions. I am not going to waste my time trying to deflect from what we are actually here to discuss. When the Government side has to spend its time attacking Sinn Féin rather than explaining how this Bill is going to affect renters, it is saying all we need to say. The irony is striking. The Government side has plenty to say about Sinn Féin and nothing to say about the Bill. Sinn Féin has detailed alternatives that the Government has ignored. I do not need to deflect because I want to discuss the Bill. Plainly and simply, this new rent hike Bill is a financial attack on renters. The Minister talks about security of tenure. What good is it if the rents are going to be too high in the first place?”
“Again, I commend Senator Ryan on her leadership, empathy and determination to improve the law in a meaningful way. This Bill belongs on our Statute Book because grief has no timetable and our laws should reflect that. I am proud to support this motion on behalf of Sinn Féin but am very disappointed that the can is being kicked down the road for 18 months. I cannot understand that. It is not costing the State any money. We can do it for other circumstances, so why can we not do it for mothers when they lose a child, one of the most horrific things a mother can go through?”
“The safeguards are already there. Medical certification is required, clear notice periods apply and the postponed leave must be taken later in one continuous block. This is not open ended. It is careful and proportionate. Some may say that the number of people affected by this will be small but if even one mother is forced back to work while grieving the loss of her child, that is one too many. We do not measure compassion by numbers. For teachers, healthcare workers and other front-line staff, returning to emotionally demanding work while carrying that level of grief can be so overwhelming. This Bill gives them breathing space and time to heal. It sends the very simple message that the State will not force grief into a rigid timetable.”
“Under current law, some mothers are forced to use up their maternity leave during the most acute period of grief when they are simply trying to survive, not recover. That cannot be right. Maternity leave is supposed to support bonding, recovery and well-being. It is not meant to be burned up during trauma. This Bill just recognises that reality. It allows a mother to say she cannot do this right now but will need that time later. Importantly, the Bill does not reinvent the wheel. We already allow maternity leave to be postponed in cases of serious illness. We strengthened that law in 2024 after listening to families affected by cancer during pregnancy loss and maternity leave. That change worked. It was compassionate and practical and caused no chaos. This Bill simply extends that same common-sense approach to child bereavement.”
“I am proud to second this motion and sincerely commend my colleague, Senator Nicole Ryan, for bringing forward this Bill. Senator Ryan has done something really important here. She has seen a gap in the law, listened to the lived experience, decided that it was not right and tried to fix it. As she said, this Bill is about one simple thing, namely, allowing a mother who has lost a child to pause her maternity leave and take it later when she is actually able to benefit from it. That is it. No new leave, no extra cost, just flexibility, dignity and basic compassion. The death of a child is one of the most devastating things a person can go through. Anyone who has ever spoken to a parent who has experienced that loss knows that life does not just go on as normal. Time stands still. The world keeps moving but the parent does not.”
“Delivery of these flood defences must happen now, not in four years time, which I am told is the projected timeframe for when the Laois schemes will get under way. How many more storms and heavy rainfall events will destroy properties and communities while we wait for these schemes to be completed? The Minister can hear that there is serious frustration here. It does not matter whether it is code yellow, red, orange, blue or pink - the progress here is too slow and it is not good enough.”
“They know these floods were both predictable and preventable. The extent of the flooding damage would not have been as severe if long-term flood defence plans had been fulfilled by this Government. There are excellent plans - I have seen the super flood plans for Mountmellick, Portarlington and Clonaslee - but they are no good sitting in someone's office gathering dust. The long-term flood defence plans and flood relief schemes have been drawn up and ready to go for years, and now are really only lacking political will and funding. It is not the fault of Laois County Council, which is doing everything in its power. It is a question of the funding coming down to it. Right now, words and statements on this are not enough. People in County Laois are really angry when it comes to flood defences.”
“Across the country, communities have waited and waited. They are frustrated by the slow progress in these schemes, especially the people in County Laois. On behalf of those who have had their homes and businesses destroyed already, who cannot get insurance now to cover any future damage, and who live in constant fear of the destruction of what will happen once again, I ask the Minister to do more to stop talking about this and to get some action. These schemes cannot stay in the planning stage for nearly a decade. I cannot understand why they are taking so long to complete. My thoughts are with the people across the country who are living through this destruction of their homes, their businesses and their belongings. The financial impact of it all must be mentioned alongside the sheer stress and frustration they must be feeling.”
“Storm Chandra and the recent persistent rainfall have again laid bare the failure to implement services and schemes to prevent damage from flooding, not just last week or during the storm. In County Laois, there are three towns constantly at risk of flooding. I talk about them all the time in this Chamber. Last November, Storm Claudia caused flooding once again in Mountmellick and Portarlington. Historical reports of flooding have shown these areas to be prone to flooding for decades. Flood relief schemes in Mountmellick, Portarlington and Clonaslee were promised after the devastation of the 2017 floods. As Senator Murphy said about a scheme in his local area, nine years later these schemes are still in the planning stages. Schemes on paper are worth nothing to the people who fear yellow rain advisory or storm warnings.”
“I do not say this lightly in regard to the promises and the slow progress for people in Laois but there is no hiding from the fact that this Government has failed people in Laois for far too long in terms of getting flood defences built so that storms like Chandra and the rainfall warnings from last week do not have such catastrophic consequences for people's lives, their homes and their businesses. We also learned last week from the public accounts committee that millions of euro allocated for the national flood forecasting warning service went unspent. Only €5.9 million out of an allocation of €19.3 million was spent on this service between 2020 and 2024. We need to know why. I hope the Minister will address that.”
“This debate is about Storm Chandra but the discussion should not be limited to one storm. Storm Chandra was not particularly remarkable as an isolated weather event. The flooding was devastating but inevitable because of the amount of rainfall preceding the storm and the lack of preparation due to the frustratingly slow progress of flood relief schemes and flood defence measures, which have been promised for far too long. This is not about just one storm, this is about years of failure and neglect.”
“It would also extend the statute of limitations from two to five years, which would allow victims plenty of time to come forward and would also give An Garda Síochána enough time to forensically and technically examine personal electronic devices and services in order to build a strong case. In addition, the Bill would increase the maximum penalties upon conviction to properly reflect the impact and the seriousness of these crimes. On Safer Internet Day, I am calling for action. I am calling on the Government parties in here to support this legislation and to ensure our laws genuinely protect children and victims of online and offline abuse, as new technologies emerge.”
“This is not about blaming parents. I am a parent myself who is probably guilty of not monitoring enough. It is about recognising how fast technology is moving and how unprotected many children are in the online space, and acknowledging that the law is struggling to keep pace. Today in the Dáil, Sinn Féin is bringing forward really important legislation to close this gap. Sinn Féin's amendment to Coco's Law would clarify that the creation of sexualised AI deepfakes is illegal by criminalising the generation and creation of non-consensual images and videos.”
“Today I want to talk about Coco's Law. As my colleague has mentioned, today is Safer Internet Day. It comes at a time when the scale of online risk facing children and young people in this country can no longer be ignored. New research released this morning by CyberSafeKids paints a deeply worrying picture. Over 3,300 primary schoolchildren and more than 1,700 parents were surveyed nationwide. The findings show that one in eight children is at risk of online contact with strangers. More than half the children have no parental restrictions around online contact, including chatting and gaming with people they do not know. Just 39% of eight- to 12-year-olds say their parents monitor or check their online activity and fewer than half say there are clear rules at home about privacy settings or sharing images and videos of themselves online.”
“We can really see that this is an issue and urge that this House considers moving responsibility from the Department of justice to the Department of housing as it would be beneficial.”
“Responsibility for the PSRA and the surrounding legislative framework work should be transferred as a matter of urgency to the Department of housing in line with the commitment in the programme for Government. Following that transfer, the Oireachtas housing committee, of which Senator McCarthy and I are members, should hold public sessions with all relevant stakeholders, including buyers, consumer advocates, auctioneers, legal professionals and regulators to examine what is and what is not working in the current system. That process should then inform a clear report for the Minister for housing and the Government can then commit to legislation on this issue during the term in office. Again, I welcome the opportunity for more collaboration here.”
“This is really important to consumer protection and fairness in the purchasing process. That focus is both timely and necessary. I am really be interested in collaborating more on the issue because while there may be differences on legislation across the House, we do have strong common ground on the outcome we all want: a home buying process that is fair, open and genuinely protects consumers. I hope this is an area where we continue to work together constructively in this House and in our committee work as well. However, if we are serious about delivering real reform, we must be honest about the structures that are needed to make this happen. This will not be achieved while the responsibility for this area remains with the Department of Justice, which carries an extremely heavy legislative workload and many urgent reform priorities.”
“The reality is that buyers carry the emotional and financial risk and the uncertainty while having the least power in this transaction. That is why I believe these issues require serious Oireachtas consideration and comprehensive legislative reform. I welcome Senator Kelleher's remarks about the committee working on this and reviewing the different areas here because a lot of work needs to be done. Reform that makes the process of buying a home more open, transparent, timely and efficient, underpinned by real, enforceable consumer protections is important to all of us. I acknowledge again the work of Senator McCarthy and the Independent Group for bringing this matter forward. The concerns highlighted in this motion reflect what many of us are hearing directly from people trying to buy a home. I welcome the focus on transparency.”
“Even where an offer is accepted, many buyers then face lengthy and exhausting delays, as Senator McCarthy mentioned. Sales can drag on for months, chains collapse and buyers are left out of pockets for surveys, legal fees and valuations, only to be told that the sale has fallen through. I have dealt with constituents in Laois who have gone through this cycle more than once, with no explanation and no clear recourse. At a regulatory level, there is a clear gap in consumer protection. The PRSA lacks sufficient powers, and buyers who believe there has been wrongdoing often find there is no clear source of information and no meaningful complaints mechanism. The authority is very limited in enforcement when issues arise.”
“In County Laois, I regularly meet first-time buyers and families who have spent months and, in some cases, years trying to secure a home and they describe the bidding process where they are given little or no information, where bids appear and disappear without explanation and where they are expected to make life-changing financial decisions without transparency or certainty. The lack of transparency in the purchasing and bidding process is one of the most consistent concerns I hear. Buyers are asked to trust a system that offers them very little reassurance in return. Linked to this is the widespread concern about false or inflated bidding. Whether wrongdoing has occurred, the perception alone is deeply damaging. It undermines confidence and leaves buyers feeling exposed and unprotected.”
“I welcome the Aire Stáit to the House. I welcome this motion and the opportunity to talk to it. If someone is fortunate enough to be able to buy a home in today's market, we all agree that the process is far from fair and transparent. It is nice to hear that we are all aligned across the House that more needs to be done. For many buyers the process is stressful, drawn out and deeply uncertain from start to finish. The motion refers to specific legislative proposals that have come before the Oireachtas in the past. I do not intend to focus on just this. Instead, I want to speak to the lived experiences of people who come into my clinic who are trying to buy a home and the systemic failures that continue to exist in the property purchasing market. I hope this is an area that we can all collaborate on.”
“Helping Ukraine to fund the war is not the way to bring about peace. It is putting Ireland in a really dangerous position with the EU. This is a devastating mistake for Ireland.”
“Earlier today, I spoke in this Chamber about how there are no detox beds in Portlaoise hospital. We cannot cater for our medical emergency needs and yet we are looking to send money to a war. We are supposed to be a neutral country. This completely undermines everything we are as a State. It seems the Government just does not care about our neutrality. If the Government wants to dismantle our neutrality, that needs to be put to the Irish people for a vote. Sinn Féin says "No". We should not give €90 billion to Ukraine when €60 billion of it is to be spent on weapons. We have no problem supporting the Ukrainian people. We have welcomed them into our homes and our communities. An enormous number of families from Ukraine are living in Laois. I welcome every opportunity given to them in our communities. We have helped them enormously.”
“What we see before us today is a really sharp and dangerous U-turn. It is a clear covert attempt to undermine our neutrality and fund war. Some €60 billion of this €90 billion loan is designed to go towards weapons. That is where the big problem is. Make no mistake, this loan will do nothing other than ensure the war can continue. We should be helping both sides to engage in peace talks. Our answer is "No". I am really disappointed that our amendment could not be accepted. We have no problem with supporting humanitarian aid in any sense but there is no precedent for us to take part in this loan. We are a neutral country. At a time when services at home are on their knees, how do we explain to constituents in Laois €60 billion of support for Ukraine for a war?”
“I second the amendment. I thank the Minister of State for coming in. Sinn Féin has roundly condemned the Russian Federation's invasion of Ukraine. It was an illegal act of military aggression and a flagrant violation of sovereignty and international law. It has caused devastating human suffering. Nothing in what we say today diminishes that truth. The people of Ireland have rightly had immense pride in our support for and solidarity with the people of Ukraine since Russia invaded, but the people of Ireland are equally as proud of our neutrality. It is, after all, our neutrality that makes our solidarity in times of struggle so valuable. Our ability to engage in diplomacy over battle lines and in peacekeeping in times of war is what Ireland is respected for all over the world.”
“As the Minister of State knows, Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise serves counties around all around it. People are on trolleys in the emergency department there every day. We have a psychiatric unit and a maternity unit. We have so much there and yet we cannot provide for the most vulnerable people in our communities who are dealing with addiction.”
“I welcome that the Minister of State has said that drugs and addiction more broadly is something that affects every family. There is no family across the island of Ireland that is not affected by it. This is why it is so important that we do everything we can. The Minister of State spoke about residential services. Unfortunately, when we live in a county such as Laois we do not have any of this. There is nowhere people can go for residential treatment for any of these services. This is why this modest ask of just three detoxification beds is so important. I understand that we have only a model 3 hospital; I did not know this is a reason we cannot have the service I am asking for. There is a growing population and we have well over 93,000 people in County Laois.”
“I know we spoke before and the Minister of State is aware of the great work that the ARC Project is doing in Portlaoise, and I welcome that she will visit it. That it is important and we would like her to visit Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise and the midlands. We would also like the Minister to visit. We need this issue to get to the forefront and for something to be done about it, because we cannot continue to leave people who need to do safe detoxification with nowhere to turn.”
“There is also a public petition signed by hundreds of people in Laois and across Ireland requesting this. The ask is modest; it is just three beds. It is practical and achievable, but three detox beds would provide safe medical supervision during withdrawal, reduce the pressure on already overstretched emergency departments, support families at a moment of acute crisis and, crucially, create a real, safe pathway into recovery, rather than another dead end, and sometimes, in cases, suicide, which is an area we really have to acknowledge and do more work in. I ask the Minister of State to acknowledge the lack of detoxification beds at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. What are the plans to address it?”
“The ARC Project provides peer-led recovery supports, family spaces and community-based programmes rooted in lived experiences. It works with people at the most difficult points of their lives and sees first-hand how the absence of these detox beds acts as barrier to recovery and, at times, puts people in serious risk. Following advocacy from the ARC Project, a motion was brought before Laois County Council by Marie Tuohy calling on the Minister for Health to establish three medically supervised detoxification beds in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise, with seven-day admission pathways and clear links to HSE addiction services and community recovery supports. That motion reflects a strong, growing consensus locally that this gap must be addressed.”