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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“This means that when people in the midlands present seeking help for serious alcohol or drug dependence, they are often left waiting in overcrowded emergency departments or, even worse, discharged into unsafe environments where withdrawal can be medically dangerous and, in some cases, life-threatening. This is not a policy gap on paper; it is something that families have to live with in Laois and all over Ireland every day. Loved ones finally reach a point where they can ask for help, often at a great personal cost, only to find out that the system cannot safely respond at a critical moment. The gap has been repeatedly highlighted by the ARC Project in Laois, a voluntary, community-led initiative supporting individuals affected by addiction and their families.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I acknowledge her work in this area. The drugs strategy is part of her brief. This is an urgent issue for Laois and Portlaoise. It goes to the heart of patient safety, dignity and access to care. I refer to the urgent need for medically supervised detoxification beds at Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise. We have no rehabilitation centres for anyone with addiction in Laois. There are no detoxification beds in the county. There are no dedicated detoxification beds in Midland Regional Hospital Portlaoise.”
“This definitely did not come from any pharmacists or healthcare professionals because there are more complex medications like those for diabetes or those for someone who may be blind. How did was the decision reached that these are the only drugs covered for phased dispensing now? They are normally what end up in a blister pack. They need to get them phased and it needs to be on a weekly basis. The pharmacy discusses with the patient whether it is putting them into a blister pack and whether it is charging or not. The fees are the issue. There will no longer be reimbursement of the fees.”
“The phased dispensing fees are being changed, whether a pharmacy chooses to put them in a blister pack for the patient's convenience or compliance and whether the State ever agreed to pay for it or not. It paid for phased dispensing and pharmacies' blister pack medication. Some charge and others do not. The changes to the phased dispensing fees are where the pharmacies will lose out. They will no longer be able to pack medication for that because the list of medications now covered under phased dispensing is the issue. Phased dispensing is the only fees the pharmacy gets. That is where the problem will come in. I do not understand how this list was chosen. There is a certain group of medications here.”
“Where someone is on an antidepressant, an SSRI, for their mental health, that may be covered, but if they are on a heart or cholesterol medication, that is not covered. People are going to have some medication packed and some not. If you talk to any health professional, we know the danger that comes with that and the hoarding of medication in presses. Blister packs have changed so much of that. Any ambulance or emergency worker will tell you that when they go into a house, they will pick up the pack and they can see straight away the name, the date of birth and the medication. More importantly, they can also see if the person has taken the medication that day. It is one of these decisions that is going to cause avoidable admissions to our hospitals, and for families and carers this is a nightmare.”
“I know from studying for two years to be a pharmacy technician the tiny difference in size between the two. These are complex medications and it is not fair to introduce this. Whether it is €20, €30 or €50 of a charge people cannot afford it at the minute. I have been inundated with calls from pharmacists and technicians I used to work with. I have also had a number of calls from diabetes nurses from the diabetes clinics because none of the diabetes medications are covered. What are they going to do now for compliance? People are not going to be able to afford the medications so they are just going to have to go without. What has baffled me even more is the list of medications that are on it.”
“I genuinely cannot understand how the Government believes it is acceptable to introduce a charge for this service. I was thinking last night about all the different people I packed for. I was looking at the list of medications now covered and asking myself what a blind person will do now or what will a person with dementia or an intellectual disability do. I also have a 14-year-old daughter who takes medication and we need to have it blister-packed because of the GP stamp. This will now not be covered. She is 14 and I am a working mother. I am not there all the time. It is my only way of knowing if she took her medication safely. We can see here there are green pills. I am not going to go into what they are but one is a 20 mg tablet and one is a 10 mg tablet.”
“The criteria are, first, at the request of a patient's physician; second, due to the inherent nature of a medicinal product, that is, product stability and shelf life; third, where a patient is commencing new drug therapy with a view to establishing patient tolerance and acceptability before continuing on a full treatment regimen; and, fourth, in exceptional circumstances, where the patient is incapable of safely and effectively managing the medication regimen. These four criteria have to be met to get pre-approval from the HSE before a patient can get their medication blister-packed. This small group of people are already in a very vulnerable position. We know they have been identified as needing to have the medication blister-packed as they would otherwise not manage their medication. This is where the service is being taken away.”
“I thank an tAire Stáit for coming in to talk about this. This is a decision I find deeply troubling, not just as a Senator but also as a pharmacy technician. I worked for more than ten years in pharmacy preparing these blister packs. I know exactly all the standard operating procedures that go on behind the scenes in preparing a blister pack. I also understand exactly the people who get the blister packs and rely on them. What I cannot get my head around is that the guidelines changed in 2017. I was working in pharmacy in 2017. I printed out the letter we got from the HSE in 2017. There was a list of four criteria that a patient needed to meet to get a medicine blister-packed. It is already nearly impossible for someone to qualify for a blister pack.”
“If the State wants workers to trust the scheme, these issues need to be resolved urgently. People need to know that their data will be safe. We are a very wealthy country. People should not live month to month and wonder where the new charge or deduction is coming from. We have to be very careful what companies we choose for this work. I have a severe objection to the use of Tata and anything that will associate us with such a company. We have come so far in supporting the Palestinian people that these are areas we have to be careful about and work together on in order to make the scheme better and one we can all support.”
“I am incredibly concerned and have recently been made aware of some of the steps the Government took in the development of the scheme, namely the €150 million contract awarded to Tata Consultancy Services. This company makes up part of the Tata Group whose subsidiaries have developed an array of weapons used by Israeli defence forces in Gaza and the West Bank. I am particularly anxious to discover whether the Government assessed these deplorable acts before awarding the contract and if this particular contract contributed to the plan to remove services from the occupied territories Bill. We then hear warnings from Chartered Accountants Ireland about potential data protection risks, which Senator O'Donovan mentioned, including inappropriate access to sensitive payroll information.”
“That is something we definitely have to work on. They are entirely overwhelmed by people's concerns around it. That is what they have said. In a cost-of-living crisis, it is wholly inappropriate to lock workers out of their own money for six months. It is difficult for a worker on €20,000 a year to manage without €20 or €30. For a family in poverty, that €20 or €30 can be a shopping or energy bill or pay for dinners, bus fares and school runs. As that money leaves the pockets of workers, it is not going to a secure State fund. It is not going near NAMA but rather to private pension funds to which the State will gift billions in the opening years of the scheme. To lock workers out of their own money to benefit private funds is not only insulting; it is a damaging blow to the pockets of our lowest workers.”
“Budget 2026, where Sinn Féin wanted to increase the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance, Government refused. Where Sinn Féin wanted to restore the right to retire at 65 years of age, Government refused. Where Sinn Féin wanted to reward €300 in fuel allowance, Government gave less than half. Families will go home this winter to no energy credits. We know the child poverty figure has increased. It was one in five, it is now one in four. There are a lot of concerns among people about the new auto-enrolment scheme. While I do have to commend the Minister for bringing forward this scheme, and I do really welcome the idea of a pension, but there are some areas in it that we really do need to tweak. There are some areas of concern here. Citizens Information staff tell us that they are in the dark around how it will be implemented.”
“I thank the Minister for coming in. I have some points to make respectfully, as we differ on some issues. I am hoping we can work collaboratively on them. "A recipe for austerity" and "a devastating setback for disabled people" were the words of Social Justice Ireland and the Disability Federation of Ireland, respectively, in response to the budget I am very conscious that this budget did not even keep in line with welfare payments from 2020 values. I am not interested in playing politics with people's livelihoods. People who a straddling poverty deserve clear assurances and honest messages but I do acknowledge that Sinn Féin's alternative budget would have alleviated people from poverty and protected our most vulnerable citizens and our hardest working citizens.”
“If a 15-year-old girl can show this level of courage, surely this Government can show some urgency. I request an immediate debate in the House on the assessment of need crisis, the staffing collapse within the children's disability network teams and the emergency action that must now be taken to recruit therapists and uphold the law. Children cannot wait any longer, parents cannot carry on this burden and no child should ever have to sleep outside Leinster House to force a Government into action.”
“Cara said yesterday: "While Storm Bram is blowing I will really suffer out here... [but] it is a symbol of the pain and suffering that families go through when services... and therapies aren't given... in a timely manner." She is so right. Families should not have to rely on a child, a schoolgirl, to shame a Government into obeying its own laws. Cara has already succeeded in securing a €20 million donation to Cara's fund. She negotiated a national recruitment campaign with the HSE but as she has said, "The Government has given me a car, but has forgotten to give me the keys" and without therapists, "the car doesn't drive". The truth is that without urgent therapist recruitment nationally and internationally, children will remain stuck, unsupported and failed.”
“I wish to talk about the most incredible 15-year-old, Ms Cara Darmody, who is here with us today in the Gallery with her dad. She is doing the job that this Government still refuses to do. Yesterday, Cara Darmody and her dad Mark, while Storm Bram battered this country with dangerous winds and weather warnings, spent the night outside the gates of Leinster House, beginning her 50-hour sleep-out to once again expose the ongoing scandal with assessments of need delays. She is only 15 years old but she is carrying a fight that should rest on the shoulders of this Government. There are 18,000 children waiting for an assessment of need. That is expected to rise to 25,000 by the end of this year and this State is breaking its own disability law in 93% of cases, failing to complete assessments within the six-month legal limit.”
“She laid a laurel wreath at the cenotaph in Belfast for Remembrance Sunday last year and just last month. It is really important. We are engaged in dialogue. We have been out on the doors in these unionist areas. I have knocked on doors, spoken to people myself and talked about the benefits of a united Ireland. We have to remember the work our party has done since the Good Friday Agreement.”
“She has lived up to that commitment in both word and deed. Her first visit as First Minister was to the loyalist Shankill Road to meet the community along with Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly. She also said: I will serve everyone equally and be a First Minister for all. To all of you who are British and unionist [I say this]: your national identity, culture and traditions are important to me. I will be inclusive and respectful to you. None of us are being asked to surrender who we are ... Let's walk this two-way street together and meet one another halfway. I will be doing so with an open hand and with heart. I will give examples of how Michelle led the way on unionism and inclusion. She went to the funeral of Queen Elizabeth II and the inauguration of King Charles III.”
“I wish to talk about the inclusion and leadership role Sinn Féin has taken in this. I wanted to talk about the benefits of an all-island healthcare system, one that is not based on a two-tier system. It is really important, listening to the contributions to the debate, that I outline some of the steps our party has taken and the work we have been doing. Sinn Féin has been in dialogue and negotiating but also sharing power at Stormont with unionist parties for 20-plus years. We are listening to and engaged with civic unionism, not only political unionism. On taking office as First Minister for all, Michelle O'Neill said in the Assembly: As an Irish republican I pledge cooperation and genuine honest effort with all of those colleagues who are British, of a unionist tradition and who cherish the Union.”
“I want this House to ask An Taoiseach for a response and to contact the hunger strikers. They have gone through so much. We cannot let this hunger strike resume. It is not acceptable. We trust that when a mediation process has taken place and promises are made, there must be a follow-up system and proper and clear communication with the individuals so that everyone is protected.”
“We feel now the meeting was applied to get us off the hunger strike. We are weak and suffering but determined to resume it to the bitter end. This email really alarmed me. I spoke to two of the hunger strikers today. They have now been told that they will not get a meeting about this until January because the Ministers' diaries are full. They are elderly survivors who nearly died on the doorsteps of Leinster House after 51 days without food and their health has deteriorated. They had five asks and they trusted that when they received the Taoiseach's letter, those asks would be put in process straight away. They are now being fobbed off. After every email they send to request a meeting with the relevant Minister and the Minister for education they are told they will have to wait until January. We need to treat this with urgency.”
“Three weeks ago on 10 November a 51-day hunger strike ended. The Taoiseach wrote directly to four hunger strikers, survivors of industrial and reformatory schools. The letter promised mediation, delivery, recognition and urgency and asked them to end their hunger strike on the basis that solutions were being progressed. They took him at his word. They trusted the Head of Government, and after 51 days without food, with their health deteriorating, they ended their hunger strike in good faith. Yet, 21 days later, nothing meaningful has happened. I will quote from an email I received from them today: Our resumption of our hunger strike will begin again in the coming days. False promises yet again. Two of us have still not eaten properly since 10 November so weight continues to fall off us.”
“That is the cost survivors pay for speaking out and that is why this Bill cannot wait. Today I am asking every Senator here to speak to their colleagues in the Dáil and urge them to stand with survivors, to stand with Sonya, Leona and Shaneda, and to ask all the TDs in their parties to support this Bill. Survivors cannot wait any longer. Let me be absolutely clear: this Bill is only the beginning. Sinn Féin will continue to stand with survivors. We will continue to protect survivors. Today is the start of something better and survivors will never stand alone again.”
“This is the reality of the current law. Under the 2023 Act, survivors of sexual violence cannot apply for a civil protection order. There is no legal mechanism to stop a convicted abuser from contacting them after their release. This is a really cruel gap in our law and the Bill finally closes it. Shaneda Daly said that this Bill will be empowering for future victims; those who have already been through enough deserve to feel safe. Leona O'Callaghan, who has shown extraordinary courage, said that by speaking out, they put themselves in the firing line for revenge from their perpetrators. They do it so that their kids will be safer, but once they take that risk, they deserve to know that when the perpetrator is released, they will have some level of safety. That is the truth.”
“It is a straightforward, compassionate measure that finally gives survivors the protection they should always have had. It is hard to believe that in 2025, this is not available to a victim. I am delighted to have three extraordinary survivors with me today in the Gallery, Sonya Stokes, Leona O'Callaghan and Shaneda Daly. Their presence reminds us of exactly who we are fighting for when it comes to this Bill. These women have taken their pain, trauma and years of fear and turned them into power. They have turned it into change. I am so proud of them, of their courage and leadership, and am deeply grateful that they have trusted me with their stories. Sonya shared something this morning, saying that for survivors, the fear never stopped at the court date. They lived unheard, unprotected and terrified.”
“I commend Senator Clonan on his work on safeguarding legislation and he will have our full support on that. Safeguarding legislation has never been more relevant. Today is an immensely important day, as other Senators have said. It is International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women, a day when we stand together and say that women and girls deserve safety, dignity and justice. Orange is the colour that represents this worldwide. Today, my party colleague, Deputy Matt Carthy, will bring forward for debate the Victims of Sexual Violence Civil Protection Orders Bill in the Dáil. This is really simple legislation but its impact will be enormous. Sometimes the simplest changes are the ones that transform lives, and this Bill is exactly that.”
“When representatives of Uisce Éireann were before the housing committee, they made it clear that if we want to deliver homes, support rural Ireland and protect public health, investment in water and wastewater must be approached as critical national infrastructure just like roads, schools and hospitals. We need more urgency in this matter.”
“Housing demand in Laois is unprecedented right now. It is indefensible that delivery of homes continues to be delayed because the State did not expand the water infrastructure in time, especially as we all know how bad the housing crisis is and that it is set to continue for many years. Outside the towns, rural communities face their own crisis, with inadequate or non-existent wastewater treatment stalling construction of one-off homes and impacting communities and enterprises. These areas must not be left behind. I call for more balanced regional development. Despite Irish Water making clear that it needs additional capital funding, the Government has dragged its feet. Announcements are made but delivery is years behind.”
“Counties like Laois must not be left behind when it comes to basic infrastructure like water that will enable us to address the housing crisis. I acknowledge and welcome the planning application put in a few months ago for the upgrade of the Portlaoise wastewater treatment plant, but it is only an application. There is much talk and have been many announcements about plans to upgrade services and bring in new services, but we do not see action. For the people in all the towns I mentioned, announcements of plans and planning applications are one thing but until action is taken, those words do not mean anything to them. Children and families are homeless in communities and people are having to leave because they cannot build or buy a house in their local area. We must start delivering these services as a matter of real urgency.”
“Laois is a growing county and yet not a single town there has seen an increase in water supply or capacity since Irish Water was established 11 years ago. I would love it if the Minister of State would comment on that. As a result of that to which I refer, Rathdowney, Portarlington, Mountrath, Ballylynan and Stradbally have reached or exceeded their water capacity. Mountmellick and Graiguecullen are at the limit of wastewater capacity. Borris-in-Ossory, Ballinakill and the Swan have hit their limits for both water and wastewater services. This means new housing is being blocked not by planning objections or lack of land but by the State's failure to invest in basic infrastructure. Communities are being told they cannot grow because the taps and treatment plants cannot cope. That is simply unacceptable.”
“Water is a fundamental right. It is essential for public health, our communities, local development and our environment. This is why Sinn Féin has been absolutely clear that water services must remain in public ownership and be funded through general taxation, protected from charges and safeguarded as a public good in our Constitution. However, the frustrating and shameful reality is that the infrastructure delivering those services is failing. The system is under enormous pressure. Even Uisce Éireann's chair, Jerry Grant, recently described our water systems as being in a desperate state. This is the result of decades of complacency and underinvestment. This is why it has become an issue up and down the country. We see the effects of that in my county of Laois.”
“I am sharing time with Senator Collins. I will speak about two different matters. The first relates to flood defences for water, particularly in my county of Laois, which has been left behind. With Storm Claudia last week, we saw flooding seriously affecting businesses and homes. This is a recurring problem for Mountmellick and Portarlington. OPW projects and planning are moving at a dangerously slow pace. Every time we have a storm, homes and businesses are put at risk. We really have to look at the systems and at fast-tracking these projects. We were told that there was a one-in-100 chance of a storm having such a detrimental effect again. However, only a couple of years later, it has happened again. Rivers were overflowing into people's homes and people were left with homes and business premises that are not fit for purpose.”
“We cannot leave them until next Wednesday. We need to get an urgent response for them today in order that they can end their protest. I am told they need to go to hospital. The paramedics will take them to hospital, but we need to work together to get a response for these people.”
“The protesters are in the back of the ambulance now and the paramedics are concerned for them. They tell me that they will have to wait until next Wednesday to get a further response from An Taoiseach in respect of two of their most recent asks. They cannot wait until next Wednesday, so I ask that Members of this House work together today to try to get a response for them. What they are asking for is not major at all. There are only 4,000 of these survivors. They are looking for HAA cards and pension entitlements. We need to get this sorted. It is not acceptable that there have been 47 days of back and forth and negotiations. Now that their health is at risk I am really concerned. We asked one of the paramedics if they will get to the stage of irreversible damage and he said that they are already there.”
“This issue has been raised in the Chamber by numerous Members over recent weeks, but today is really different. The situation has become critical. The health of the people to whom this issue relates is failing and their lives are at risk. I am talking about day 47 of the hunger strike. It is 47 days since this group of survivors of industrial and reformatory schools started their protest at the gates of Leinster House. They are desperate to be heard. Their health has really deteriorated. I visited them last night and was shocked to see the condition they are in. Paramedics visited them this morning. One of the women is down to six and a half stone. Three of them are on antibiotics and steroids. The paramedics who were there this morning are still with them.”
“Farmers are going to play a central role in restoring nature over the coming years but they must be supported with new ring-fenced funding that does not undermine their CAP payments. Will the Minister of State please look at this one for us? Ireland will hold the EU Presidency in 2026 and we should be leading from the front and not playing catch-up. We should be setting an example in restoring our habitats, rewilding our landscapes and protecting the species that make our island of Ireland so unique. To sum up, we really welcome the increase in the NPWS resourcing because our environment and our wildlife cannot wait. We see that from the figures. It is time for ambition and for proper investment. Finally, County Laois has lots of good land and we would be open to looking at a national park there.”
“This fund would allow local authorities to apply for assistance in purchasing or developing parcels of land for public use, parks, green spaces and native woodland. It would also support environmental NGOs like the Native Woodland Trust to protect existing woodland, purchase adjoining lands for natural expansion and to invest in new afforestation sites. Increasing the number of public parks, green areas and native woodland cover does not just protect the biodiversity. It sequesters carbon dioxide, improves air quality, enhances public health and strengthens our connection with nature. We also need to be looking to the future. We must deliver on the EU nature restoration fund approved last year. Sinn Féin has committed to establishing a €300 million dedicated nature restoration fund, providing new supports for our farmers outside of CAP.”
“Some 85% of Ireland's habitats are inadequate or in poor condition and 63% of Irish bird species are now on a list of concern, with 37% amber listed and 26% red listed, which is something I just learned. There is a big job ahead. These numbers reflect a systemic failure to treat biodiversity and it is sad that this is the reality in which we are living. Sinn Féin, in our alternative budget, committed to €12 million in additional funding for the NPWS for staffing, resourcing and improved enforcement, and €1.3 million to increase biodiversity officers in local authorities by 50%. We also proposed a €10 million dedicated fund to expand the number of public parks and national woodlands across the State so that areas like County Laois could be included.”
“The current state of our special areas of conservation and special protection areas across the country is deeply concerning. The vast majority of our country's vital habitats remain in an unfavourable condition, which is partly due to years of neglect and inadequate funding. I commend the tireless staff of the NPWS, as other people have. The rangers, ecologists and conservation officers do extraordinary work protecting our parks, our wildlife and our natural heritage. They are working on the front line of biodiversity recovery, often with limited resources and under immense pressure. However, we are still miles away from what is needed. When I went looking into this more deeply and reached out to some biodiversity experts in County Laois, the figures spoke for themselves.”
“In Mountmellick, Coolrain Bog and the Slieve Bloom Mountains, habitats have declined significantly in recent years. In the Slieve Bloom Mountains in particular, the iconic hen harrier, a species that once thrived there, now teeters on the brink. Therefore, it is great that a Government response plan is being published to save the hen harrier from extinction. That is welcome but we cannot ignore that this should have happened long ago. Years of underinvestment and policy neglect have brought us to this point. I commend the work of Senator Noonan in this area - he is here with us - and I acknowledge and welcome the 15% increase for nature and heritage in budget 2026. That is really welcome. While any increase in resourcing for the National Parks and Wildlife Service is to be welcomed, we cannot ignore the reality before us.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in. I am delighted for the chance to speak on national parks and wildlife and the importance of protecting them. We have heard about where all the main national parks are, namely, Connemara, Glenveagh, Killarney, Kerry, the Wicklow mountains and the Burren. However, I live in County Laois. When you are in the midlands, we are a little bit left behind, so I do not have a national park to talk about. However, it is also important to talk about the other biodiversity and conservation areas under the remit of the National Parks and Wildlife Service. There are several nature reserve areas in my own constituency of Laois and locally we are seeing the effects of the crisis in climate and biodiversity.”
“I understand all the processes he has talked about there - I do not understand all the different processes - but he might look at it a little bit further to see how we can push things along with regard to the 2026-30 plan and the proposal Laois County Council submitted last year. As far as the council is concerned, it is not sure there is going to be funding there in the next cycle. I would love to see a commitment that these firefighters in Rathdowney are not going to be left behind this time round.”
“I thank the Minister of State and appreciate his in-depth response. Rathdowney would have been the number one priority and then things changed and Stradbally became our priority. Stradbally is very much a done deal now, as the Minister of State said, with approvals having been granted in 2022 and 2023. We are very much waiting for that process to happen. In the meantime, however, Rathdowney has remained a health and safety risk for the workers there and for the women in the station, which has one changing area of 3 sq. m for the four women and the men. As one can imagine, they are emergency services and there is not a lot of time when they are getting changed and going out. I ask the Minister of State to put extra consideration into the urgency of this matter.”
“It is metres up the road from the other fire station. Laois County Council and the people of Rathdowney deserve clarity and commitment. I ask that the Minister of State's Department prioritises the Rathdowney fire station project as a matter of urgency within the fire services capital programme and that construction will finally begin. These firefighters protect our communities, and it is time now that we protect the facilities that they deserve.”
“Laois County Council has repeatedly made this project its number one priority for services, submitting applications every year. It submitted an application last year and again it was refused. We know Stradbally is getting refurbished at the minute, but every time they submit an application for Rathdowney, it is just pushed back. Today, I just want to get answers. It is shovel ready. It is ready to go. I visited the site, the warehouse that is with the site and the very small fire station these firefighters are working out of, so I just want to know when this long-promised commitment is going to be delivered, and why, 16 years after a site was purchased, our firefighters are still working out of a building that is no longer safe. It is not as if we do not have a site or funds for the site.”
“This is just totally unacceptable in 2025 for dignity and respect for the women in the station, given we have a new site purchased since 2009 sitting there waiting to be refurbished. In this day and age, it is just not acceptable. The station does not even have car parking spaces, so people have to go there and park on double yellow lines, if they can get parking. These people are supposed to be responding to emergencies, when they can be delayed because they cannot park their cars to literally get out the fire trucks to get on the way. Rathdowney serves a vast rural area covering south Laois and responding into parts of counties Offaly, Tipperary and Kilkenny. The service they provide is critical to rural safety and community resilience.”
“The current situation was designed for a single jeep and a small mobile pump, but today it houses three vehicles, including two large fire tenders. The building is cramped, outdated and located on a narrow street that makes it extremely difficult for crews to respond quickly to calls. It literally takes skill and precision just to manoeuvre the engine in and out of the building, something no firefighter should have to contend with when every second counts in an emergency. The situation inside the station is equally unacceptable. The changing area is 3 sq. m. We have four female firefighters there and six men, and we have two vacancies as well. The Minister of State can imagine 3 sq. m, with one shower and one changing area.”
“I thank the Minister of State. I really appreciate him coming in. This is really an urgent matter. I am going to explain to him a little bit about the fire station in Rathdowney and a little bit about the history of it and where it is at now so he can understand how urgent this situation is. Rathdowney fire station is one of the oldest fire stations in the country. It was built in 1954, so that is about 70 years ago now. The site for a new modern station was purchased in 2009, yet 16 years later, it is still idle, undeveloped, unused and gathering dust. Meanwhile, the firefighters of Rathdowney continue to operate out of a building that is completely unfit for purpose. I have been to this building, and it is completely unfit for purpose.”
“Thousands of Ukrainian people have come to call Ireland home and very many will want to return home once a sustainable and just peace is achieved. Ireland has supported the Ukrainian people in the wake of this invasion. This solidarity should continue until Ukraine is restored as a stable, prosperous and peaceful country.”