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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“It has the potential to transform a post-industrial landscape into a thriving biodiversity corridor, while supporting native species, strengthening water quality and acting as a carbon sink. It is a win for climate, nature and the people of Laois. We know the reality. Ireland is in the grip of a biodiversity emergency. We have to do more. Some 80% of our habitats are in a poor or inadequate condition. Species like mallard ducks, kestrels, butterflies and native plants are disappearing at an alarming rate. Nearly half of our freshwater systems are in decline. It is now not just an environmental issue; it is a health, economic and cultural one. Projects like the Cúl na Móna greenway offer a way forward. We have seen successes locally in Laois with Abbeyleix bog, where local people came together to protect and restore an ecosystem.”
“On behalf of the Sinn Féin group, I extend my condolences to the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, on the loss of his sister. I am happy to talk about biodiversity. In Laois, and nationally, we have a real opportunity to tackle biodiversity and the climate crisis in a meaningful way. We must follow on from the work our colleague, Senator Noonan, did when he held the brief. In my county there is a visionary proposal to develop a greenway through Cúl na Móna, linking Cashel and Ross bogs, along disused Bord na Móna railway lines. The project is about scenic walking rather than cycling trails and rewilding, restoring vital habitats and reconnecting communities with the beautiful nature that surrounds them. This initiative has unanimous support from Laois County Council.”
“One player put it to me like this, when she stated, "We are not asking for much. We are not asking for special treatment. We are just asking for a choice to be treated like equals." Why are we ignoring what the players want? If we truly want to grow camogie, keep young girls in sport and help them feel respected and empowered, we need to listen to them. One in five girls drops out of sport by the age of 14. Are we surprised? I welcome the decision from the Dublin Camogie County Board to the effect that referees will not penalise clubs if players choose to wear skorts or shorts during inter-county games. I call on the Camogie Association to look at the rule now, rather than in 2026. Some 83% of camogie players are not happy wearing skorts. What is happening is not fair. Let us skort this out.”
“I am wearing a pair of shorts, not as a fashion statement but in solidarity with the camogie players of Ireland who are simply asking for a choice. I acknowledge the Laois camogie players who are in the Chamber. During their match with Kilkenny on Monday, they took a stand by wearing shorts in protest of the outdated skort rule, just like the Dublin and Kilkenny players the day before, who were told to leave the pitch unless they changed. This is not a new issue. Players first challenged the skort rule in 1959. Some 65 years later, the majority are saying the same thing: skorts are uncomfortable and players want the option to wear shorts, like I have here today. The authorities at Wimbledon made the change, so did beach volleyball and gymnastics. It is time camogie followed suit.”
“On 14 March 2023, the school started a build but it has been left at a standstill. I call for a debate with the Minister so we can determine where we are going to make progress on existing school premises to coincide with all the new builds, because many children are being left behind and in unsuitable school buildings such as the prefab in a school built in 1949.”
“I want to talk about special education places once again and existing commitments to schools regarding prefabs that have been in place for years and in respect of which there is still no movement. I am going to talk particularly about County Laois. I have mentioned St. Francis School before. It has been waiting on its modular build since 2021. Forty-five children are on a waiting list there and there is nowhere for them to go. While I welcome the fact that new prefabs and new modular builds have been announced for a considerable number of schools, there are still schools left behind. Another school in County Laois, Saplings school, Killeshin, has been two years in limbo. I visited the building site, which is all you would call it, last week. The authorities have been renting a prefab at the school, which was built in 1949.”
“There are many other areas that Sinn Féin is concerned about, but my colleagues will address these. Unfortunately, the plan in front of us does not meet the needs and on that basis Sinn Féin will not be supporting it.”
“Far greater attention needs to be paid to the views of the regional assemblies and elected representatives from these areas to ensure the population distribution is regionally balanced and that investment in infrastructure, economic development, public services and houses is targeted to achieve this balance. Sinn Féin is also concerned that the plan, like its predecessor, is blind to the spatial distribution of social and economic disadvantage. It is vital that investment, particularly public investment, whether in employment, services, amenities or housing, is targeted at those areas that need it most. If you are not mapping the geographical distribution of social and economic disadvantage and in turn aligning with public investment and that need, you run the risk of reinforcing that disadvantage.”
“If the plan underestimates housing need, this will impact on zoning, critical infrastructure, transport, public service planning and, crucially, public and private sector investment in residential development. This is one of the most serious flaws in the plan and must be urgently reviewed. Sinn Féin is concerned about the proposal of 50-50 distribution of the future growth population between Dublin and the east on one hand, and the rest of the State on the other hand. It is just not balanced. There is a view that this will continue an over concentration of development in the greater Dublin area to the detriment of the south-east, south-west, Border and north-west regions.”
“The current draft, which estimates housing need at an average of 50,000 new homes a year, is simply flawed. It is based on 2022 census data and an ESRI report that did not examine unmet housing need with the existing population growth. This was not the fault of the ESRI but of the Government that set the terms of reference for the ESRI report. Significantly, the revised national planning framework document ignored the Housing Commission's calculation of the housing deficit. When this is taken into account alongside the ESRI's estimate of emerging demand, we would actually need at last 60,000 new homes per year. With each year it is not met, the deficit grows, as does the need.”
“A year after that, the national planning framework review is approved. By that time, the census data are out of date and in turn the entire underlying assessment of the statutory plan is fatally undermined. This has an impact on all aspects of the plan. Sinn Féin's view is that the national planning framework needs to be subject to a more timely review immediately after the census to ensure it is based on the most up-to-date information. The reliance on outdated data especially affects the national planning framework's assessment of housing need. The 2018 national planning framework was based on the 2016 census. By the time that plan was agreed in 2019, the data were already three years old. That means that the previous housing need assessment of an average of 25,000 new homes was hopelessly inadequate.”
“It is a real shame and means that many of us in opposition will have no option but to vote against the plan in its current form. The Government could have made this an opportunity to reach out to the Opposition and to reach a consensus. While the document has some merit, on balance the weaknesses and omissions mean that it does not command Sinn Féin's full support. The plan has a number of fundamental flaws, in particular how it deals with predicted population growth, regional balance and development, tackling spatial disadvantage and the calculation of housing need. Predicted population growth is difficult. However, the way it is done in the national planning framework makes it more prone to error. A census is conducted. Two years later, the ESRI is commissioned to undertake a report.”
“Statutory planning frameworks are an important part of the planning system. If we get them right, they provide a clear framework for the social, economic, cultural and environmental development of the State and the entire island. However, if the plan is not right, it will be an impediment to development. While I welcome that we will have a debate and a vote on the revised draft planning framework, the process leaves a lot to be desired. This statutory plan is of such significance that there should have been an opportunity for committee scrutiny, with presentations from external organisations and opportunities for Senators and TDs to propose amendments. The consultation process was far too short. Reasonable requests for extensions of the submission deadline were denied and now the Government has come back with a fait accompli .”
“The new staff members coming in are covering people who are out on long-term sick leave. These paramedics are at breaking point, given the pressure they are under. I spoke to a crew member who, on Friday night, was dispatched from Portlaoise to Thurles and then to Clonmel. That is 110 km away from the base. We are in a very difficult situation in Laois. I ask the Minister of State to ask the Minister for Health to give urgent consideration to the ambulance service in County Laois.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I respect he is taking this Commencement matter on behalf of the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, but Laois and Offaly are not the one county or the one constituency and they are not the one region for the National Ambulance Service. We had regions ten years ago - I think there were 11 regions - and now we have one dispatch centre. Having spoken to my local paramedics, I know that, looking at Laois and Offaly together, there are four bases, but I am talking about County Laois having only one base and the impact this has on the communities and paramedics. I note the big investment put into the National Ambulance Service but, according to paramedics on the ground, they are still working the same roster they have been for 20 years.”
“It is clear the system is at breaking point, and front-line workers and communities are now paying the price. I specifically highlight the situation in Laois. As I mentioned the last day, Laois has just one ambulance base compared with its neighbouring county of County Offaly, which has a smaller population but has two ambulance bases. Laois paramedics and residents suffer disproportionately as a result. I urgently call on the Minister to immediately implement some temporary plan for Laois to keep Laois-based ambulances within a defined radius of Laois until staffing and base resources can be properly addressed. The people of Laois cannot continue to face hours without any ambulance cover. Every minute lost is a risk to life. We owe it to Lauren's mother and countless others to fix this broken system before more lives are lost.”
“It was 10.30 p.m. before Lauren's mother was finally admitted to Beaumont Hospital, which was more than eight hours after the first emergency call. Tragically, Lauren's mother passed away shortly afterwards. One year later, the family still awaits a full response to their complaint. It is just not acceptable. We know the National Ambulance Service is in crisis. We are all listening to paramedics in our communities, but in Laois it is costing lives. Paramedics have also raised with me the worsening conditions they are facing. We know that, in Laois, overruns are now normal, meaning crews regularly miss their breaks and health and safety guidelines are ignored. Staff burnout has reached crisis level and there is an extremely high turnover of paramedic staff.”
“I spoke the last day about the impact this had on my own family, but today I want to share another heartbreaking story with the Minister of State. It is the story of Lauren McEvoy and her late mother. On 9 March 2023, Lauren's mother suffered a brain aneurysm at home at The Heath, Portlaoise, County Laois. Despite multiple 999 calls, with an ICU nurse explaining the critical nature of the situation, the ambulance took more than two hours to arrive. It had been dispatched from Clara, County Offaly. Even though Portlaoise hospital is just six minutes away, the ambulances in Laois were dispatched from much farther away than they needed to be. When the ambulance arrived, a further 45 minutes were lost at the scene. It was 10.30 p.m. before Lauren's mother was finally admitted to Beaumont Hospital.”
“I raise serious concerns about the current state of the National Ambulance Service, particularly its impact on rural communities like those in County Laois. Recently, I met local paramedics who were very honest about the chaos they face daily. Let us be clear, a decade ago regional ambulance control worked far better with quicker response times with local knowledge that saved lives. Since the move to a single national dispatch centre, the situation has dramatically deteriorated. Paramedics are now regularly sent all over the country. A crew dispatched from Laois to Galway could be stuck in Galway overnight. This situation leaves Laois with no ambulance available for long periods. This is not an abstract problem. It costs lives.”
“We are happy with everything in this Bill except for the vulture funds which I must comment on because there were promises made. These are mortgage prisoners and they are still very unhappy. There is great progress with this Bill. My colleague, Deputy Doherty, did a lot of work and the Government accepted some of the amendments. However, we need to put on record there are still mortgage prisoners of vulture funds and we need to bear that in mind.”
“I will not stand by and let another family go through that same heartbreak. Paramedics are being burnt out and demoralised by a system that offers no continuity or predictability. They are being pulled from one region to another and are unable to serve the communities they are based in. They are often left without adequate rest or support. Today, we - the paramedics on the ground, the families left waiting in crisis and those of us raising the alarm – are telling the Minister for Health that we need: a second ambulance service in Laois; intermediate care vehicles based locally and a reform of the dispatch protocol that keeps resources in the region; an updated triage system that reflects clinical urgency not centre scripts and real investment in our paramedic teams who are stretched to their limits. This is a matter of life and death.”
“Intermediate care vehicles should be in place for hospital transfers that are not emergencies. Currently, our emergency crews are tied up doing these runs meaning they are unavailable for critical calls. Paramedics are also being sent on non-emergency calls due to flaws in the AMPDS triage system, one which, in my opinion, prioritises box-ticking over real-world judgment. While the national emergency operations centre prides itself on mobilising within 90 seconds, that means little if the responding ambulance is located over an hour away. It is a system designed for stats rather than saving lives. I know the real-world consequences of these failings. In December 2023 my father suffered a stroke. It took 45 minutes for the ambulance to arrive and that cost him his life. I carry that pain every day.”
“I raise the urgent concerns about the state of the National Ambulance Service, particularly in County Laois. There are concerns about response times, patient safety and the well-being of front-line staff. Paramedics in Laois are doing heroic work in impossible conditions. Despite significant population growth in Laois, 8% since 2016 and a 25% rise in those aged over 65 years, the county still has only one ambulance station. By comparison, Offaly, which has a much smaller population, has three stations. The current dispatch protocol is to send the nearest available ambulance regardless of where it is based. This often leaves Laois uncovered for long periods, with ambulances responding from as far away as 100 km. This is not just inefficient; it is putting lives at risk.”
“I commend the work of the National Women's Council and the Irish Council for International Students, who have called on the Government to act and have produced reports on the issue. We need to finally ban the placing of advertisements, the soliciting and the practice of landlords offering discounted or free accommodation in return for sex. These laws must also apply to any estate agents who facilitate this disgusting behaviour. These sex for rent arrangements must be viewed as sexual exploitation and understood as a form of gender-based violence. They must be outlawed, with hefty fines applied and custodial sentences imposed where appropriate. Sinn Féin will fully support the Bill.”
“Sinn Féin welcomes this Bill. Well done to Laura Harmon, who was key to highlighting this in her former role as head of the Irish Council for International Students. We can only hope, as Laura says, it is third time lucky and the Government takes action. I welcome the Government has indicated it will not oppose the Bill on this Stage but it needs to allow it to progress fully through both Houses as quickly as possible. This legislation must be enacted. It is obvious that the wider issue of the housing and homelessness crisis creates the conditions for this form of exploitation. Being a renter in Ireland has never been more difficult. Rents continue to rise, homelessness continues to rise and women and international students are at particular risk of falling into the trap of these landlords who seek sex in lieu of rent.”
“I welcome this Bill tabled by Senators Harmon, Stephenson, Noonan and Cosgrove. This will be the third Bill of its kind introduced in the Oireachtas in an attempt by Opposition parties to highlight the horrendous behaviour of some predatory landlords seeking sex in lieu of rent. I wish to acknowledge Ms Ann Murphy, who first highlighted this in the Irish Examiner , and thank her for all her work, and "RTÉ Investigates" as well. Sinn Féin tabled similar legislation in 2024 to ban such arrangements and advertisements. My colleague, Eoin Ó Broin, has been very vocal on the issue. The Sinn Féin Bill passed Second Stage with Government support. Unfortunately, no action has been taken by the Government since then. Sinn Féin also supported the Social Democrats' Bill, which passed Second Stage. Again, there has been no action by the Government.”
“I urge the Minister of State to have a look into why these schemes are taking so long. Can we please have some urgency to deliver them in County Laois?”
“In 2023, residents viewed the plans and were glad there was some progress, but they have heard nothing since and are deeply concerned it is taking so long for this initial phase. They just need reassurances that the flood defences will be in place before they get hit again. It is acknowledged that a little flooding in 2020 led to some changes in the design presented in 2023 and caused a small delay, but to take seven years and counting to complete one phase is just not acceptable. There have been assurances that, once the planning phase is completed, the works will not take too long after that. I really hope that is true. There was an expectation that the planning for Mountmellick would be submitted in quarter 4 of 2024. We are now in quarter 2 of 2025 – where is it?”
“Similarly, a flood relief scheme is in place for Portarlington, County Laois, which has also been stuck at stage 1 for the past seven years. It is actually a bit further behind because planning is not expected for another few months. I spoke to a resident of Mountmellick today who told me that, after the flood in 2017, his insurance claim for the damage to his home was more than €90,000. Luckily, he had insurance but going forward, the insurance company will not cover any flood damage. The residents of Mountmellick and Portarlington are at the mercy of the Government’s plan to implement the flood relief schemes. With the slow progress of these plans, it is no wonder residents say their nerves are gone every time a storm approaches. They have been living in fear for eight years. How much longer will they have to live like this?”
“The water levels rose so fast, residents were terrified and homes and businesses were severely damaged. Some residents could not return to their homes for several months. The Defence Forces were called in to assist with what was described as a catastrophic flash flood. We have had a plan to mitigate against future flooding events in Mountmellick since the report in 2018. This plan was set in motion seven years ago, yet we still have no flood defences in place to protect residents from future heavy rains and storms. There are four stages after a consultant is appointed. After seven years, it seems we are still stuck in stage 1. It was expected that a planning application would be submitted by the end of last year but we have heard no update on that.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming to speak to us about flooding issues. We have known for many years now that the effects of climate change will bring about more dramatic weather events and certainly, as we have seen in the past year, we have had our fair share of storms recently. The severe damage throughout the country from Storm Éowyn should serve as a wake-up call for the Government to better prepare for more frequent and more damaging storms in future. I take this opportunity to raise the matter of the Mountmellick flood relief scheme in County Laois with the Minister of State. He might remember that, eight years ago in 2017, there was a massive flood in Mountmellick when three rivers simultaneously burst their banks after heavy rains.”
“We need mandatory accessibility audits for all publicly funded projects and we need real consultation with the disability community because they know what is needed. Inclusion should not be optional; it should be automatic. It should be built in and not bolted on. People with disabilities just want to be treated the same as everybody else.”
“When a person with a disability is unable to participate in a national initiative, that is not progress; that is exclusion. In my home county of Laois, a brand-new, state-of-the-art library was opened. One would expect that in this day and age, in a new build, accessibility would be a given, yet the lift in this new facility cannot accommodate a standard wheelchair. Let us imagine the message that sends out to a young wheelchair user who wants to visit the library and read books like everyone else. It is not about box-ticking; it is about dignity, equal access and basic rights. People with disabilities must be included from the very start of the planning process and not as an afterthought. It is something I feel strongly about.”
“I welcome the Minister of State to the House. I wish her well in her role. We do really need her to succeed in it. I want to highlight a serious and ongoing issue that I hope she will give serious attention to, which is the continued exclusion of people with disabilities from the planning and design of public projects. Time and again, infrastructure schemes are rolled out nationwide without adequate consideration for accessibility. It is not acceptable in 2025. It is not fair and it is not inclusive. For example, there are kiosks all over the country to recycle bottles and cans under the deposit return scheme. This is a great initiative in principle but how can we call it a national scheme when so many of the kiosks are simply not wheelchair friendly?”
“Every week, the principal contacts the Department of Education but is just pushed further down the road. The parents are absolutely outraged. They do not know what is going on. There are also 45 children on the waiting list. We do not have any other special school. Children who need to attend a special school have nowhere else to go. They have complex needs that need to be accommodated. Can we request that the Minister of State, Deputy Moynihan, update the principal and families of this school? If we are getting this modular build before September 2025, which we must, it needs to be large enough to accommodate all the families because, if it is not, what are the other families on the waiting list going to do? There is nowhere else for them to go. Laois, especially Portlaoise, has one of the fastest growing populations in Ireland.”
“St. Francis School is a special school in Portlaoise. It got a new school building in 2021. Because it took so long for the new school to be built - 14 years - as a result of all of the hoops that had to be jumped through, when it opened in 2021, it did not have the capacity it needed. The principal made accommodations by turning 19 classes into 12. Since 2021, the school has been promised a modular build to facilitate its growing needs, but this has not been provided. In recent months, the principal has received sanction for nine new school places. He was assured the modular build would be in place and he would be able to take on more students. These nine students have been offered enrolment for the school year starting September 2025, but there has not been any communication yet.”
“We need to freeze and reduce rents and introduce proper, secure tenancies. Sinn Féin will continue to hold the Government to account as we continue to offer alternative policies that are needed for people to one day have a home of their own. I really wish the Minister the very best of luck in his position and I hope we can finally end the housing crisis.”
“We are now seeing a growing number of people approaching pension age trapped in a private rental sector that does not meet their needs. With council lists growing, the overall reliance on the private rental sector for social housing and the failure to meet the social and affordable housing targets homelessness figures will continue to rise. However, there are solutions. Sinn Féin and other Opposition parties, as well as the Government's own Housing Commission, have set out detailed alternatives for the Minister to consider. We support the Housing Commission's call for higher targets of 60,000 new homes each year for the next five years. Of these, at least 15,000 a year should be social and 10,000 should be affordable. However, affordable needs to mean affordable in reality. It is time to stand up for the renters.”
“In the run-up to the general election, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael told barefaced lies about meeting housing targets, so it is hard to have confidence in the new Government plan which is threadbare of details and continues the pattern of low housing targets and no new policy ideas. According to the recent Sunday Independent Ireland Thinks poll, the public does not believe this Government is up to the challenge of housing. People do not believe this Government is even trying to solve the housing crisis. The people deserve better. Our young people deserve better. An entire generation of young people are locked out of affordable housing and many are choosing, or are forced, to emigrate. It is not only young people who are struggling to put a roof over their heads.”
“In Laois, prices in the first three months of this year were 14% higher than the previous year, meaning housing prices in Laois are rising much faster than anywhere else in the country. To buy a new home in Portlaoise now, buyers are paying an average of €500,000. The average rent on the open market nationally is €1,956, which is 43% higher than before 2020. The housing crisis needs an urgent and honest response from the Government but instead we see social and affordable housing targets missed time and time again, even though those targets were too low to begin with.”
“As the Sinn Féin spokesperson for housing, I am glad to have the opportunity to speak to the Minister today. It is one of the most pressing issues for people, especially for families throughout the country and in my constituency of Laois. My constituents tell me they feel there has been a real lack of political will from the Government for far too long. It has been unable to find an effective solution and its Housing for All plan has failed. Housing prices are rising, rents are rising and homelessness is rising. That is not just something we say; those are the facts. February's homeless figures show a record high of 15,378 people without a home, including 4,653 children. Asking prices for homes nationally rose again by an average of 3.7% during the first three months of 2025 according to the latest Daft.ie house price report.”
“His parents have had to pay privately for speech and language therapy and occupational therapy. Now they have been told they might have to educate Alex at home because there is no school place for him. These parents are being pushed to the brink. They are being forced to act as therapists, carers, case workers and now, possibly, teachers. We must face one more uncomfortable truth. Modular builds are not suitable school places. Yes, they can be a stopgap but modular builds are becoming the default solution for children with additional needs. There are prefabs in car parks and boxes in schoolyards. It is not right. It is not inclusive. It is another form of discrimination and segregation. Every child has the right to a suitable school place, not a shed out the back while their peers learn inside a proper classroom.”
“She recently spoke to her SENO, Mairead Penny, who was told to wait and be prepared to home school, or just send Alex to a mainstream school. I assume that the Minister of State will know that if a child qualifies for a special school then that means mainstream education is not suitable. So, attending mainstream is not a real option and would be an act of desperation, which leads me directly to the Government’s proposed amendment to the motion. The idea that there are plans in place and investment and inclusion on the way leads me to ask three questions. Where is the road map? Where is the proper timeline? Finally, where is the accountability? Yesterday, Sarah told me that Freddie had been failed by this system since he was two years old. Freddie has never received early intervention. He has been on a waiting list since he was a toddler.”
“When the school re-opened in 2021 after a full rebuild, it was already overcrowded on day one. The principal was forced to accommodate 19 classes in a 12-classroom building, which shows poor planning. In 2021, the school was promised a modular build to ease the pressure but the school is still waiting. If a special school like St. Francis, which is clearly bursting at the seams, cannot get a promised modular unit in four years then how are we expected to believe that five other schools in County Laois will have new ASD classes, with full modular builds, in a matter of months? Let me mention another real story. Rebecca is a mother whose son, Alex, is on the waiting list for St. Francis School. That waiting list is 45 children long.”
“She has already been inundated with calls from families but there is no clear plan. They are having planning meetings yet they do not have funding secured and do not have an architect. They have been told they will get a modular build but they do not know where the modular build will come from. Plus, every principal from the five schools told me the same thing, that it is highly unlikely these places will actually be open by September. So while this provision may look good on paper we, in fact, have another case of misleading families, another case of false hope and another round of devastation for people who have already been let down far too many times. This brings me to discussing St. Francis School in Portlaoise, which is a designated special school.”
“Sarah and Darren have applied to between 15 and 20 schools. They have received between 15 and 20 refusal letters, which they brought here to show the Minister of State. They would love to speak to the Minister of State after this debate, if possible, because they still have hope that someone will listen. It was recently announced with great fanfare that five schools in County Laois had been sanctioned new ASD classes, including Killeshin primary school, where Darren attended as a child. The Hennessy family were overjoyed. It felt like their nightmare was finally ending but when I picked up the phone and spoke to the principal of that school I was told the truth. While the principal is willing to do everything in her power to make it happen, the reality is grim. She was only notified days beforehand.”
“I second the motion and call for a clear commitment. I thank the Minister of State for attending. I rise not just as a Senator but as a mother and someone who listens carefully to families across this country, especially in my county of Laois, who are in crisis. There is a severe lack of special school and autism spectrum disorder, ASD, school placements in this State. This is not just a failure of planning. It is a failure for children, families and basic rights. I want to acknowledge a family sitting in the Public Gallery. Sarah and Darren Hennessy are here because they have nowhere else to turn. Their little boy, Freddie, is five years old. Freddie has autism and global developmental delay. For the past two years, he has thrived in an ASD preschool setting. He is ready for school. He wants to learn but there is nowhere for him to go.”
“That is the reality of the vulture funds. It is not the fairy tale that is told by Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. It was promised that the terms would remain the same but, sadly, that has not proven to be the case. The vultures are living up to their name. The Minister, Deputy Paschal Donohoe, once stated that he would not mind if his mortgage was with a vulture fund. A person in the constituency in which I live asked me if the Minister would be happy to pay an 8.5% interest rate. We have to stop ignoring the scandal with vulture funds and give these mortgage prisoners a way back to traditional banks.”
“I want to talk about an issue which relates directly to thousands of families the Laois constituency in which I live and across the State and which I feel really strongly about, namely mortgage interest rates of more than 8.5%. That is a horror faced by 7,000 people who are trapped with vulture funds. A total of 100,000 people saw their mortgage interest rates go above 6% last year. For a €300,000 mortgage, 6% means you are paying €1,800 a month. That is over €6,000 a year more than someone on a rate of 3%. Someone on 8.5% is paying over €12,000 more a year. These vulture funds bought up mortgages on the cheap and are now squeezing people for every penny they have at a time when the cost of living is at an all-time high. This is an injustice that has been forced on them as a result of Government policy.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. I definitely will not take the ten minutes. Sinn Féin will be supporting the Bill. We welcome this debate, notwithstanding the delay with the Bill moving from the Dáil to the Seanad. The Minister listened to my colleague Deputy Pearse Doherty and made amendments in the Dáil. As reported in today's edition of the Irish Examiner , the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman or ombudsperson, as we must say, saw a significant increase in complaints relating to insurance and fraud throughout the course of 2024, as the total number of complaints it received surpassed 6,000 for the second year in a row. This clearly shows the need for the legislation before us. It also shows that the but also that the Financial Services and Pensions Ombudsman's office should be resourced appropriately to carry out its work.”