Mark Wall
Kildare South · Labour Party · Ireland
“I understand that the Electoral Commission is undertaking research on this, but we really need to see changes in our voting system to ensure that everyone can take part on voting day.”
“We are seeing lower turnouts in our elections and extending postal votes to a wider range of people would be one measure that could help us all address this issue. I appreciate that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may be waiting on the research to be received from the Electoral Commission on postal voting.”
“The Minister is 100% correct that we all want to see recruitment to our Defence Forces continue. However the figures she has given far from the 11,500 sought by the Commission on the Defence Forces by 2028. The Minister mentioned 850 a year. Is that the height of the ambition? It is not going to take us near 11,500.”
“They cannot engage in the democratic process like every other ordinary citizen because they work 24-7, 365 days a year, with no break. This Bill is a small but necessary step to ensure that family carers feel that they can use their voice by voting.”
“There is no single issue here. This is about housing, pensions, pay and conditions. Has the Minister dealt though with the representative organisations on the single public service pension scheme? She might confirm that and let us know whether there is any update.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to entitle certain persons caring for others to be entered in the register of postal voters, for that purpose to amend the Electoral Act 1992, and to provide for related matters.”
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“We are seeing lower turnouts in our elections and extending postal votes to a wider range of people would be one measure that could help us all address this issue. I appreciate that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage may be waiting on the research to be received from the Electoral Commission on postal voting. However, I hope he will see the need here today and take the first step towards ensuring that at least family carers will have a right to a postal vote alongside the person they are caring for. I hope the Minister will support this Bill to progress through the House. The Government must recognise the need not just for postal voting but to allow family carers the right to engage in politics by using a postal vote. It is a small but necessary change that will give family carers more of a voice.”
“I understand that the Electoral Commission is undertaking research on this, but we really need to see changes in our voting system to ensure that everyone can take part on voting day. I know that during the general election, and more recently in the presidential election and by-elections, postal voting was discussed for a number of other situations, such as people being away on voting day. This is a very valid point and I hope that over the course of this Government we will see postal voting extended to all eligible citizens. In countries such as Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and even the US, postal voting is available. In Europe there are examples in Luxembourg, the UK, Switzerland, Iceland, Poland, Greece and Germany. I believe that Ireland needs to follow these examples and ensure that postal voting is extended much wider.”
“They are under a huge amount of stress and getting to a ballot box is always going to be at the bottom of their list. The Government needs to recognise the huge amount of work that family carers do day in, day out and try to make their lives that bit easier by ensuring they have access to a postal vote. It will be a very small change that could help hundreds of thousands of carers feel like they have a voice and will be able use their vote for the first time in a very long time. That is true democracy. Overall, many believe the Government has been very slow to extend postal voting to many citizens in this country and that is something that needs to be progressed.”
“They cannot engage in the democratic process like every other ordinary citizen because they work 24-7, 365 days a year, with no break. This Bill is a small but necessary step to ensure that family carers feel that they can use their voice by voting. Quite often, the family carers I meet daily tell me they simply do not have time to get to the ballot box. They are disappointed because, while the person they care for has a postal vote, the carer does not. That simply does not make sense to them. There are number of major issues impacting family carers, like accessing vital supports for themselves and their loved ones, navigating the administrative nightmare of social welfare and juggling their caring role with work and other family commitments.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to entitle certain persons caring for others to be entered in the register of postal voters, for that purpose to amend the Electoral Act 1992, and to provide for related matters. I am very happy to introduce the Electoral (Postal Voting) (Carers) Bill 2026 for family carers throughout this country. For too long, family carers have been made to feel invisible due to the lack of recognition of their extraordinary value in Irish society. The facts are very simple. There are over 620,000 of these family carers, saving the State €20 billion a year and providing 19 million unpaid hours each week. They are, in themselves, a second HSE, doing quite extraordinary work.”
“I am in contact with the Department, but I ask the Minister to come back as quickly as possible to all the public representatives in Kildare South. This is a huge issue for everybody from the area, and it cannot continue. It has been a month since the scoping meeting was held, and we still do not have an update on what is going to happen next.”
“There is no single issue here. This is about housing, pensions, pay and conditions. Has the Minister dealt though with the representative organisations on the single public service pension scheme? She might confirm that and let us know whether there is any update. The Minister mentioned all the other barracks, and that is very welcome and everyone who supports the Defence Forces will welcome that. However, the Curragh has been neglected when it comes to housing. On the basis of the Minister's reply to my previous parliamentary question, there are 63 derelict houses there. Can I get a commitment that she will expedite work on those houses? I cannot let this opportunity go without mentioning the Curragh of Kildare and what is happening there.”
“In that reply, she stated that the hope is to bring these houses back into habitable condition. This is what we need to do to improve recruitment to our Defence Forces. We need to look at the pension scheme and we need to provide housing for those who want to enter our Defence Forces, regardless of whether they have families.”
“The Minister is 100% correct that we all want to see recruitment to our Defence Forces continue. However the figures she has given far from the 11,500 sought by the Commission on the Defence Forces by 2028. The Minister mentioned 850 a year. Is that the height of the ambition? It is not going to take us near 11,500. I will mention a couple of issues. The first is the single public service pension scheme. RACO and PDFORRA have been in contact with the Minister a number of times about this. Has she had any update on that from the Department of Finance or the Department of public expenditure? On housing, I recently received a reply from the Minister in respect of a parliamentary question on derelict houses in the Curragh and at other barracks around the country.”
“This is a massive issue for many parents in my constituency of Kildare South who are fighting every year for a place for their child. Even if they are lucky enough to get a place, these families could face paying up to €200 for primary school transport and €220 for secondary school transport. In a cost-of-living crisis, this is an attack on working families who are doing their best to get their children to school and to get to work on time. When we factor in voluntary contributions, digital devices, uniforms, State examination fees, mock examination fees, school transport fees and more, we no longer have free education. We no longer have equal starts for each of our children. The Government needs to deliver on the State's promise of free education.”
“Families in Kildare, Meath, Cork, Dublin, Wicklow, Waterford, Longford, Tipperary and throughout the country are contacting me and other Labour Party members saying they do not know how they will afford these costs. The cost of education keeps increasing year on year. Government was rightly praised for introducing the free books scheme but parents tell me that what the scheme gives on one hand is being taken away by the cost of laptops on the other. It is time for the Minister and her Department to provide clarity to school communities and parents by making a statement to the Dáil on this matter. We cannot let parents spend the summer months worrying about this. Every year, Bus Éireann and the Department of education places enormous pressure on those applying for school transport, which is another cost.”
“Working families coming into my office are being told they must pay €700 or more for these devices and that they can only be bought from a particular supplier. People from all over the country tell me there is no free education in Ireland any more. One dad told me he had to buy three laptops, one for each of his three children. That will cost him over €2,000 - a cost the Minister's Department is saying he does not need to incur. That is before uniform costs and voluntary contributions are factored in. A family in County Meath tell me they are paying €600 while another in Cork tell me they are paying the same. Parents are paying up to €1,000 for laptops. Members can imagine the pressure that is putting on families. Some have to pay insurance on top of this, which is adding another €100 to the cost.”
“I have received three responses from the Minister's Department which state there is no requirement for digital devices in junior or senior cycle. The Minister has stated this in the replies and confirmed it to schools as well, yet principals and teachers have highlighted to me that the curriculum mandates digital devices for additional assessment components, AACs. I raised this in a parliamentary question to which the Minister replied, "There is no requirement currently under the new subject specifications for students to have their own laptops or devices; or devices of a particular type." This is extremely confusing for many school communities and parents who are having to bear the costs of these devices.”
“Parents contacting my office tell me they are forced to go to one supplier due to the requirement for school branding. These parents pay over €160 on uniforms and over €100 on shoes for secondary school students, according to a recent report by the Irish League of Credit Unions. It is a lot for parents who are struggling with the cost of living. Government needs to intervene and mandate schools to introduce non-branded uniform clothing so parents can shop around for the most affordable prices. I previously raised the ongoing issue of digital devices for students in this Chamber. This continues to be a source of concern for many working families and there is no clarity on whether these devices are mandatory.”
“I thank my Labour Party colleague, Deputy Kenny, for tabling this important motion which highlights a massive issue for many families across the country. The cost of education report by Zurich shows the annual cost of sending a child to primary school is €1,794. Sending a child to secondary school is even more expensive at €2,928. This means parents could be paying anything up to €32,000 just to put their child through what is supposed to be free education. The Labour Party is clear that free education means free. It does not mean voluntary contributions, State examination fees or €700-plus on laptops or tablets. Uniform costs are putting financial pressure on working families who, in most cases, do not qualify for the back-to-school clothing and footwear allowance.”
“It would give us all independence and freedom to plan our lives better. I ask the Minister and Government to continue to support the development of such a card and ensure the Minister for Health has all the supports that her Department needs to bring this life-changing card to the hands of those who need it most, giving hope to young and old and changing their lives for good.”
“Today is No Wait Card Ireland Awareness Day. It is supported by Crohn's and Colitis Ireland, Spinal Injuries Ireland, the Irish Cancer Society and the Continence Foundation of Ireland. I thank Kildare woman Maria Crowe once again for raising the importance of this card. The Minister will know that, with the support of the Labour Part, I have a Bill on Second Stage to make this card widely available and recognised. I take the opportunity to thank the Minister's colleague, the Minister for Health, Deputy Jennifer Carroll MacNeill, for her continued support and advice on this card, and the Chief Medical Officer and her staff. Raising the awareness and acceptance of this card would be a life-changer for hundreds of thousands of Irish people who suffer from bowel and bladder diseases and medical conditions, of which I am one.”
“If the Government is serious about its obligation under the UNCRPD, we must see a much greater investment in personal assistance hours to support people with disabilities to live independently, and that must include investment across home supports, day and community services, residential and independent living.”
“Mention was made of the competition between the HSE section 38 and section 39 organisations and private operators. It is simply not good enough that private operators have the advantage that they have compared with section 38 and section 39 organisations. I will conclude on the matter of personal assistance hours. Under the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, the Government has set itself an ambitious target of delivering an additional 1 million personal assistance hours. However, between 2024 and 2525, the Government went backwards, with the number of hours decreasing by 0.5%. That is not progress; it is regression.”
“There is also the ongoing national scandal of young and middle-aged people with disabilities trapped in nursing homes. It has been five years since the Ombudsman published the Wasted Lives report, showing that over 1,300 young and middle-aged disabled people were being forced to live in nursing homes because of the lack of suitable accommodation for them to live independently. Five years on and more than 1,100 people remain trapped in nursing homes. This Government and the previous Government have barely managed to make a dent in this unfortunate figure, while more and more young people continue to be admitted into nursing homes year after year. This is an awful indictment of Government failure and we simply need to see action quickly.”
“That is the reality for many ageing and older parents of adult children with intellectual disabilities in this country because they cannot bear the thought of not knowing what will happen to their loved ones should they pass away before them. That is the hardest truth in this country at the moment. A serious issue has been neglected by Governments, which have failed to keep pace with the growing population of young adults who find themselves in such circumstances. Because of this, we are told Ireland could have a shortfall of up to 2,300 residential places since the recession and overall demand for nearly 4,000 extra places as we move forward. These are family carers who are working 24-7 without a break. They are adults living with a very uncertain future.”
“I wish to start by thanking Deputy Quaide and the Social Democrats for bringing forward this motion. It is very important for so many people in this country. It is an issue that comes up very regularly in my own office. As has been said, over 2,000 adults with an intellectual disability in Ireland live with a family carer over the age of 70 and 450 of these adults are cared for by parents over the age of 80. We cannot imagine what that is like day to day for those parents, who ask who is going to look after their adult child when they pass away. It consumes them day in, day out. It is the one question they ask and it is the one question that is on their minds when they get up in the morning and when they go to bed at night.”
“That represents a nearly 75% drop in wages for dads who avail of this leave. That is why the Government must look at the Scandinavian model of parental leave. It must extend parental leave at a minimum for a full year and ensure that there are mandatory quotas in place for both mams and dads. Ireland needs a plan that works in genuine partnership with independent providers setting professional wages for educators and, most importantly, delivering good quality and affordable childcare for families.”
“SIPTU has been calling on employer representative groups to start pay talks as far back as the start of the year to avoid any delays, but they only finally agreed to start these talks in June. As things stand, it looks like the situation will be delayed even further this year. This means funding not spent on pay will be returned to the Exchequer again, which is totally unacceptable for educators, and will only worsen the recruitment and retention crisis in the sector. The Government must look at reforming parental leave in Ireland too. We need to ensure that parents are able to stay at home for the first year of their child's life, but we also need to ensure that more dads are involved in the care of their child. The current system does not support this. New dads are only entitled to two weeks of paternity leave at a flat rate of €299.”
“Educators are leaving the sector in their droves because the Government has failed to recognise and value them. Staff no longer feel they can make a career out of working in the sector. I agree that the State should be paying the wages of the educators in the sector. SIPTU has reported that many providers are struggling to retain staff, with an average turnover of 25%. Despite State investment of €45 million in pay from September 2026, no pay deal has been agreed. This year's joint labour committee pay talks only started in June and continue to prove difficult. Pay proposals were published in July of last year but still ended up being six weeks late by the time they were signed into effect on 13 October, while funding was available from September.”
“In most cases, it is women who are having to reduce their work hours and, in many cases, having to give up their careers entirely. Childcare has become the modern-day family bar, with women having to choose between having a family and having a career. Critical jobs are being lost because of Government inaction. It is heartbreaking to hear the stories of these mothers, many of whom are having to give up critical employment. This is something the Government must address urgently. The Government also must acknowledge that reducing childcare fees alone will not provide one additional childcare place. The Government must stabilise the sector by addressing the workforce challenges. The Minister must put forward a real and radical plan to set Ireland on a path towards a public system of early childhood education and care, not a State-led one.”
“It simply does not work. Most independent providers cannot afford to stay in core funding and are left with no other choice but to withdraw. The knock-on impact of that is felt by working families as they face a massive increase in childcare fees. The Government cannot continue to pour money into a broken system. Childcare fees are one of the biggest costs facing working families, many of whom are paying close to a second mortgage, as the Minister has heard more than once tonight. All across Ireland, families are having to make difficult choices as to whether they can afford to pay for childcare, assuming they can even find a place. In my constituency of Kildare South, places like Kilcullen, which I have mentioned in the Chamber previously, have become childcare deserts because of the chronic lack of places.”
“They are barely breaking even, with some on the brink of closure. According to the figures provided by the Department of children itself, there have been nearly 1,000 closures of childcare settings since 2019. Families simply cannot afford any more closures. The Government continues to pour money into a broken system that only benefits large corporations whose sole interest is profit, not providing quality childcare. No one in the Government will acknowledge that we are sleepwalking into a corporate takeover of childcare. If this continues in the next few years, there will be no small and medium providers left. Then the system will implode, just as it has done in Australia. What will the answer be then from the Minister and the Government? As many contributors have stated, core funding is not the answer to fixing the sector.”
“I welcome the Minister to the Chamber for this very important debate. I thank Deputy Kerrane and Sinn Féin for bringing forward the motion on childcare. We are all agreed on the importance of this issue, albeit it is somewhat ironic that we are discussing it after midnight. While it is positive to have this debate, it is the view of my party that the Government must go further to ensure there truly is delivery of public childcare provision. The current system of early childcare education and care is simply not working for providers, educators and, most importantly, working families. Ireland needs a new and radical plan to fix the childcare system. I have spoken previously in the House about the small and medium independent providers that are the backbone of the sector. They feel they have been left high and dry by the Government.”
“We continued fighting for equality and, in 2015, delivered same-sex marriage, a defining moment in this country's history. In 2018, we secured an official State apology for gay and bisexual men, and I want to commend the work done by my Labour Party colleague, Deputy Ged Nash, who has tirelessly worked to ensure Government disregards these convictions. Pride is more than a celebration. It is a march founded on civil activism and protest. Pride is a collective of pivotal moments in Ireland's history that lead us to where we are now. We must remember this and how far we have come as an island.”
“The point we have reached today, with Members proudly speaking on LGBT Pride, does not just happen. It comes after decades of work, bravery, courage and consistent fighting by advocates. We can never forget this. We must always remember this fact and remember the many people who broke down the closed doors and made Ireland a much more welcoming place for our LGBT comrades. They did so because it was the right thing to do and, in many cases, they walked a long and lonely road to get Ireland where we are today. I am proud to stand here as a member of the Labour Party, which has fought so hard over the years to achieve the social progress we enjoy in this country today. It was the Labour Party that in 1993 decriminalised homosexuality.”
“We cannot continue to see the destruction of the Curragh of Kildare and the Department of Defence paying €158,000 year on year to those who do not covet this great asset that we have in County Kildare. Imagine what we could do and what the Department could do with some of the dereliction I mentioned before, with the Curragh camp, if it could spend €158,000 a year on the Curragh rather than having to spend it on the cleanup of illegal encampment. I hope the Minister of State will bring back my concerns, and I know he will, to the Minister for Defence. I have directly engaged with her on the Curragh, as he said, over many years, and with previous Ministers as well. All we want is to see the Curragh have its rightful place as one of the most important places in the whole country, not just in County Kildare.”
“I thank the Minister of State for that comprehensive reply. He is 100% right. All the public representatives of County Kildare, particularly those of south Kildare, have continued to raise the importance of the Curragh Plains to everybody in County Kildare. I welcome the fact that a positive meeting took place on 17 June at the Curragh, because when anybody visits the Curragh - we will have thousands of very welcome visitors to the Irish Derby Festival this weekend on Friday, Saturday and Sunday - they go away with a sense of a place that is truly unique in many ways. It is unique in the fact that we can have sporting clubs, as I mentioned, that people can go walking, and that a person can bring pets, etc. There are sports clubs on the edge of it, and it is the home of the Defence Forces and, in the main, to the Irish racing industry.”
“We are being defined by people who come here and do not respect the Curragh and by extension the people of Kildare. What I am asking for tonight, and I hope the Minister of State, Deputy Troy, has some answers for us, is that the Government will finally realise the importance of the Curragh of Kildare, that the Government will enact the Curragh Plains conservation management plan strategy, and that we will see an entity such as a dedicated agency taking it over. In replies I have received in the last number of weeks, the Minister for Defence has told me that her Department has been in and out of the High Court trying to get injunctions against these illegal encampments. I hope the Minister of State has some good news for all of us who value the Curragh of Kildare as the jewel in the crown of our great county.”
“In 2021, along with a number of colleagues, I took part in consultation and that has developed into the particular plan I mention. As I understand it, that plan has been prepared for over a year and a half now, but in a recent reply I have seen the Minister states that she is still working on the implementation of that plan. Unfortunately, over the last number of weeks we have seen, once again, a large number of caravans in an illegal encampment. At one stage the numbers rose to over 100. We also saw the imposition of circus tents on the Curragh. The Curragh is a magnificent facility that is used by many people from the towns of Newbridge, Kildare town, Kilcullen and all the surrounding areas of County Kildare, yet we are being defined by illegal encampments.”
“Along with other Oireachtas colleagues over the last number of weeks, months and at this stage years, I have been raising concerns about the growing number of illegal encampments on the Curragh. In 2024, for example, the Department of Defence spent €186,000 cleaning up after illegal encampments on the Curragh. This is the Curragh of Kildare where there are currently two battlefield sites with no legal protection. The last Curragh of Kildare Act was in 1969, which is 57 years ago. That Act replaced the Acts of 1868, 1870 and 1961. The Curragh Plains conservation management plan includes engagement with a number of bodies and runs to 161 pages. Its conclusion is that we need to review the Curragh by-laws. They were last reviewed in 1969. It also states that we need to look at the Curragh of Kildare Act, and form a dedicated agency.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome here tonight. I have often described the Curragh Plains in County Kildare as the jewel in the crown of the whole county. It is 4,870 acres of historic and, in the main, undeveloped land. It is home to our Defence Forces, the racing industry and a large number of sheep farmers, along with a number of magnificent sports clubs. As well as being home to those organisations and entities it is also home to many unique plants and bird species. The Curragh Plains conservation plan states that there are over 200 historic sites and monuments on the Curragh, with many more yet to be discovered. I will come back to the Curragh Plains conservation plan later.”
“I am glad that the figures relating to the 3,500 inspections are on the low side. I again stress that one instance of non-compliance is one too many.”
“I tabled this question in order to find out what is going on with all of our childcare facilities and to ensure that best practice obtains right across the country. I am very happy to hear that after 3,500 inspections and in the context of the figures the Minister provided, we have a very low level of non-compliance. I am sure the Minister will agree, however, that even one instance of non-compliance is a concern. I know she will come back to me with further information on this. When we get the figures and have time to study them, I am sure we will all have further questions. The reason for tabling this question was to ensure that there is some regulation of this important childcare sector. The fact that the number of issues identified is good in one sense. Without the detail behind them, however, we cannot comment any further.”
“I will take up the Minister's second point, or maybe the other point that she made, about planning guidelines. Is she telling the House that she will now be consulted on all planning applications and that this is a first for the Department of Children, Disability and Equality? Has the Department never been consulted on projects such as this because if that is the case, it is worrying? It is an opportunity for us all to get involved in the planning process but, more importantly, her Department will now be involved in planning applications as we move forward, given the lack of childcare that we have all mentioned. Will the Minister confirm that her Department was not previously involved in planning applications as one of the bodies that would be asked to comment on them and that that has changed?”
“Given the need for childcare facilities in such a facility and the fact that we want to ensure that consultants and all those employed in the hospital can actually get to work and increase the number of women in particular who can go back to work, does the Minister agree with us that this is a missed opportunity at the very least and somebody needs to come back to us as quickly as possible?”
“That is a very comprehensive reply. I have a couple of questions arising from it. The Minister sent my question to the Minister for Health. Has the Minister for Health come back to the Minister on this? Does the Minister, Deputy Foley, agree with us all that it beggars belief that, when we are spending so much money on the children's hospital, we are not spending any money within that hospital on childcare facilities, given what Deputies Ennis and Kerrane have said about the lack of childcare facilities right throughout the country and the fact that the Minister comes in here every month and tells us that she is doing her best? I have no doubt that she is, but we are spending up to €2 billion on the children's hospital when, as the Minister stated, we are looking at somewhere in the vicinity to have childcare facilities.”
“I move amendment No. 9: In page 21, between lines 31 and 32, to insert the following: “(c) the prohibition on use, copying, communication or other action in respect of the record pending the final determination of the application, including such prohibition as against any person to whom the record may have been disclosed prior to the assertion of privilege.”.”
“We want to prevent any potential loopholes with this legislation and I hope the Minister of State can agree to our amendments.”
“An authorised officer has up to 30 days to apply to the High Court for a retroactive determination of privilege after he or she has already taken possession of that piece of digital evidence but there is nothing here that amounts to any sort of explicit ban or interim restraint on the use of that privileged material while the court application is pending. We believe that this is essential and have tabled these two amendments to make clear on the face of the Bill that where an authorised officer or adjudication officer compels disclosure or takes possession of a record, the record may be subject to legal privilege and they cannot use, copy, communicate or act upon that record before the High Court's determination. I hope the Government will look closely at these amendments and that common sense will prevail.”
“In recent times, the Government has sometimes been slow to recognise the impact that some of this legislation could have on the protection of legal or journalistic privilege. Under section 32(3) and (4), the Bill allows for the compelled disclosure of potentially privileged material. This is subject to a subsequent High Court determination with a 30-day window to apply. The key word here is "subsequent". As currently drafted, the provision puts the cart before the horse. The 30-day window runs from the date of disclosure of taking of possession.”
“(b) Where no application is made under subsection (4) or (6) within the period of 30 days referred to in subsection (4) , or within such extended period as the High Court may allow, the record shall be returned forthwith to the person from whom it was taken or compelled, and the officer concerned shall certify in writing that the record has not been used, copied or communicated during the period of its retention.”. I take the opportunity to wish the Minister of State well in her new role. We served together in the Seanad and it great to see her promotion. I am sure we will have many engagements in the coming months. Amendments Nos. 8 and 9 deal with privileged material.”
“I move amendment No. 8: In page 21, between lines 3 and 4, to insert the following: “(4) (a) Where an authorised officer or an adjudication officer compels the disclosure of a record or takes possession of a record in accordance with subsection (3) — (i) the officer concerned shall not, pending the final determination of an application under subsection (4) or (6) , as the case may be, use, copy, communicate or otherwise act upon the record or its contents for any purpose other than its secure retention in accordance with any directions given by the High Court under subsection (7) , (ii) the record shall be retained in a sealed and secure form, and shall not be accessed by any person, save for the purpose of complying with a direction of the High Court under subsection (7) , and (iii) any person having custody of the record shall be bound by the restriction in subsection (3) and shall, if required by the High Court, give an undertaking to that effect.”
“Workers and families are facing higher bills because the Government supports data centres more than working people. We need to put an immediate stop to the building of data centres, which are using more than 20% of Ireland's electricity and are on track to be largest electricity users in this country. We cannot let this continue. We cannot become the data centre capital of Europe. The Labour Party's motion calls for the Government to put workers first, tackle the high energy bills they are facing and provide fully funded grants so that households can retrofit their homes. The Government must take this issue seriously and finally show up for workers.”
“He was quoted €850 for a survey and consultation, with a grant available of €350, meaning that he would have to come up with €500 of his own money just to start this process. That is simply not money that people like the person who came to my office have lying around. I acknowledge that the Government has made increases in these grants. The warmer homes scheme grant is one of the best grants for those who qualify, but waiting an average of two years for works on many homes, and particularly for those who need it most, is just not sustainable. We are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis where every euro is being counted. People do not have the money to make these upgrades to their homes, and the Government needs to do more.”