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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Every one of 679 lines we hold for Mark Wall, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 12 of 14.
“Anyone who has had even a cursory look at the reports on Grace would describe her situation as a truly perilous one, a case where she was left in danger due to recklessness. I urge the Minister to refer all the reports on Grace and Family X to An Garda Síochána and the Director of Public Prosecutions. I call on the Government to pursue the programme of reform of inquiries those of us in Labour have outlined. We know this will happen again. We are doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past if we do not improve the process of inquiries and ensure that people who are impacted can secure truth, accountability and, most importantly, justice. I call on the commission to engage and address the concerns that have been articulated by whistleblowers, families and Grace’s legal team.”
“Those eyewitnesses and their stories have been silenced by the decision not to pursue the next phase. This report does not provide justice for Grace, and the tortuous delays mean the other cases will not now be addressed. After spending approximately €37 million and over a decade on reports and inquiries, no one has yet been formally held accountable. What we had were the type of cover-up and secrecy so often found at the heart of State failings. There was a desire to protect institutional reputation and avoid anyone being held accountable. I will close by repeating what Brendan Howlin stated in 2017, namely: Reckless endangerment became a criminal offence in this State in 1997 ...”
“The Government should request that the Law Reform Commission consider the legislative framework governing statutory inquiries and tribunals tied into the proposed work of the expert group. Before I conclude, I want to recall the debate when the terms of reference for the Farrelly commission were agreed in this House back in 2017. My former colleague Brendan Howlin stated this should not have been just an inquiry into the care provided to Grace. Rather, it should have been an inquiry into the care provided by the South Eastern Health Board, and the care it provided by the use of placements with Family X, its monitoring of that care and its response to any concerns, not just about Grace but the other 47 placements too. It should have been an inquiry like that into the X case.”
“If there is one positive outcome from this commission, it should be reforms to develop a new model of inquiry, with full disclosure and candour, carried out in a non-adversarial way. I call on the Government to address the failure of the commission model by establishing an expert group to consider the current processes we have and how to reform them to ensure a quicker path to justice for relatives and survivors. We must develop legislation to allow for the appointment of a parliamentary inspector, as used in Australia, as an alternative to tribunals and commissions of inquiry for issues such as those the Commission of Investigation into the IBRC examined.”
“It is so disappointing that we have a report on how the State and many others failed Grace, someone who has a disability, and yet no one considered how to communicate these findings to a person with a disability. This again points to the need to reconsider our approach to dealing with safeguarding issues. The commission has not delivered justice for Grace; it has just pushed justice further away for her and all those families impacted. We in Labour are concerned at how long inquiries now take. It is not just the inquiry carried out by the Farrelly commission; we saw similar problems with the inquiries into NAMA and the IBRC and we know about the long walk to justice for the Stardust families. In our manifesto, we outlined a series of proposals to look at new approaches to provide adequate paths to truth, accountability and justice.”
“Failing that, serious consideration should be given to the call by the special rapporteur on child protection for an investigation into what happened at the inquiry because we have heard the concerns of the families, the whistleblowers and now Ms Butler. This is also an extremely difficult report to read not just in terms of its content, but also its accessibility. We have more than 2,000 pages, with no executive summary and no summary of the findings. Did the commission at any point consider the disabled community when compiling this report? An easy-to-read version should have at least been provided, similar to those developed by Inclusion Ireland.”
“An astounding situation has also occurred whereby the General Solicitor for Minors and Wards of Court, Marie-Claire Butler, has issued a statement on the case. Such an occurrence is very rare. Ms Butler has clarified that while extensive legal submissions were made on behalf of Grace, these were not included or referred to in the report. This is extremely disappointing and most likely retraumatising for Grace and the families involved. It would be welcome if the commission came before the committee on health or the committee on children to clarify why these legal submissions were not included or referenced. At a minimum, a public statement should be made.”
“It was deeply depressing to hear lain Smith detail on radio the toll it took on him emotionally and financially and the impact it had on his family. We need more whistleblowers, not fewer. That is why the Labour Party introduced legislation to protect them. If the perception is allowed to remain that the State will try to crush you for speaking up, then we need to seriously review the protections in place. We must now question the suitability of commission of inquiries into safeguarding issues. The Irish Association of Social Workers has noted that this points to a process which cannot facilitate the necessary reflection and dialogue needed to ensure we understand what happened to Grace and how we can learn from it.”
“It spells out how survivors of abuse and their families have once again been let down by the State and the commission. Mr. Finlay concludes the article by asking who will apologise to all of them for what happened. The promise of a non-statutory safeguarding exercise must be delivered and will facilitate these families because they have been let down. The Government must provide the full details on this exercise in the interest of transparency and to begin to rebuild trust with the people failed by the State and other agencies. This exercise needs to be fully independent of Government, and an independent expert must be appointed. We must remember that it was the whistleblowers who fought tooth and nail to bring these failings to light and to protect Grace.”
“While I do not intend to go into the detail of these issues, there should be no hiding from the problems with the commission that have been known in some form or other for many years and that have been articulated publicly by others since the publication of the report about the lack of findings on these key issues. As Fergus Finlay highlighted in his article in Irish Examiner on Saturday 19 April: We will never know why internal HSE reports raised serious anxiety about sexual abuse of Grace, but the Farrelly Report dismissed that entirely, saying it found no evidence. He also outlined what happened to a resident of X, Fran, and the experience of her mother, Nuala, when she was a witness to the commission. I urge everyone to read the article.”
“One individual said: We are shocked at how we have been attacked, accused almost of telling mistruths. This was not what we were expected. It has been horrendous. In the Dáil at that time, we highlighted to the Government the concerns of the families of victims of further delays in investigating their treatment. Seven years ago, the Government knew about the issues at the heart of this commission. It no doubt should have informed us that the commission would not establish a finding that Grace was subject to physical, sexual or emotional abuse or neglect in the provision of food and sustenance. It made a finding of neglect in the standard of care provided, a lack of attention on dental care and financial mismanagement by Mrs. X, however.”
“The risk of this happening was made clear by the Labour Party in 2017 when the commission was established. The decision to not proceed with part X raises serious questions about justice because the families concerned have known for some time their opportunity for truth and accountability would be hindered. Many of the witnesses who gave evidence to the commission found it to be adversarial. It was if they were on trial. Seven years ago, the commission was granted a 12-month extension around the time it was due to submit its final phase 1 report. In May 2018, former Deputy Brendan Howlin raised with the then Government in the Dáil concerns that had been expressed by victims’ families of the highly confrontational and adversarial nature of the commission's work, as reported in the Irish Examiner .”
“Now we have the Grace case. This is not a watershed moment. A tidal wave of reform is needed. Without political will and systemic reform, tragedies like that involving Grace can and will happen again. Those in the disabled community, their families and advocates need reassurance from the Government that it will prioritise adult safeguarding legislation. We are still waiting on the national disability strategy, however. The protection of liberty safeguards Bill and the Adult Safeguarding Bill have not been the subject of the kind of urgency that is needed. We need to provide the legislation and mechanisms in which we can fully support people with disabilities and safeguard them against harm. There is to be no phase 2 of the commission. This will be distressing to other families who have many unanswered questions.”
“People working in our health services failed Grace. The Farrelly report details the individual and system failures that led to a devastating and traumatic impact on Grace. There was clear gross neglect, a breach of Grace’s basic human rights and dignity. The report highlights the cold and bureaucratic machine that many disabled people, their families and whistleblowers face. It is an uncaring system. If this is how the system operated and how the State met its responsibilities, then we need a total reset. We need a new approach to care that is truly reflective of the rights of disabled people, one that is based on the values of dignity, transparency and compassion. This is not a watershed moment because we have had these reports before. We had the report on the Emily case in 2023. There is the ongoing Brandon case.”
“The fiasco of what happened during the commission and the outcome of the report raise serious questions for us, as legislators, for the Government and for State agencies. The profound lack of public accountability must be addressed. Having spent millions of euro, many of us are at a loss as to the failure to vindicate the rights of Grace and set out clearly what happened to her, who was responsible and why it happened. The whistleblower Paula summed up the outcome on RTÉ’s “Today with Claire Byrne” show, by stating: I think the HSE and the people named in the report who failed Grace must be absolutely delighted this week by the narrative and the spin that's being peddled in relation to that. I say people very deliberately here because it suits them for us to talk about systemic failures, but the system did not fail Grace.”
“I thank the Minister for the way she went about making arrangements for this debate. I also offer my condolences to her and her family. I welcome the opportunity to speak on the Farrelly commission report on behalf of the Labour Party. At the heart of this scandal are two matters, namely Grace and other vulnerable children and how they were maliciously failed by the State and those employed to care for them. I pay tribute to lain Smith and, of course, Paula, the brave whistleblowers who made a protected disclosure in 2009 that brought this issue to light and who fought to protect Grace. I also acknowledge John Deasy, John McGuinness, Daniel McConnell, Fergus Finlay, Colm Ó Mongáin and the members of the Committee of Public Accounts, all of whom campaigned with determination and compassion to bring this story to light.”
“We have had promises that the school would open in south Kildare. It needs to open in south Kildare. The school in north Kildare that was opened is already full and parents are crying out for places. It is simply not good enough that we have no school in south Kildare. I also raise once again the Sensational Kids project in Kildare. A new national child development centre lies in blocks in Kildare town. We spoke about the need for therapists. One of the key reasons for bringing this forward was to train therapists so they can help the children, yet we have a school that can provide 18,000 therapist hours per year lying in blocks in Kildare town. The Government needs to act on this. I acknowledge the work that has been done by my colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny. I take the Minister of State's bona fides but we need action now.”
“We also have parents putting their loved ones into transport each morning, crisscrossing other parents because there is no cohesion as to where the school places are being offered. We need a centralised application system and we need it now. It is too late to be waiting for more reports. In my constituency, in Newbridge, the average waiting time is 32 families. I acknowledge, as all my colleagues have done, the great work the SNAs do and acknowledge the work that my colleague, Senator Laura Harmon, has done along with the campaigner, Sophie Cole. I hope the Minister of State will be able to support the assault leave Bill the Senator brings forward. Again I raise the need for a special school in south Kildare. The special school was opened in Craddockstown, Naas, in north Kildare.”
“Like my colleague, Deputy Smith, I ask the Minister of State to withdraw the amendment and give a bit of hope to the parents who came out today to support the Labour Party motion. The Minister of State can still do that. Centralised applications are key to so many parents whom I deal with. My office, like those of many Members of this House, is inundated with calls from parents who cannot get school places for their loved ones. Centralised applications were mentioned by the Minister, Deputy McEntee, in her speech. She spoke about waiting on a report and about hopefully rolling it out. That is simply not good enough. We need centralised applications now. Too many parents are making 40, 50 or, as my colleague has just said, 83 calls. It is happening day in, day out. It is simply not good enough.”
“I thank my colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, for tabling this important motion. I thank and welcome all the parents and guardians who are in the Gallery today. If we cannot value the things that matter the most, like a right to education, how can we build a future for our children? Our Labour Party motion does exactly that. It highlights a right to education as a basic value of Irish society to truly deliver on the constitutional right of every child to an appropriate school place. The Minister, Deputy McEntee, in her speech said that she does not disagree with any part of our motion. The Minister of State acknowledged that. Yet the Government continues to oppose the motion with its amendment.”
“Obviously, we in the Labour Party have stated before that we believe some of the Apple tax windfall needs to be used to bring these estates and systems back up to a proper working state. Having listened to previous speakers, it is true that the lack of investment will halt, and is halting, and affecting housing during the housing emergency we have. However, there is a huge problem in this State with Celtic tiger-built homes, in particular in my county of Kildare, and those living with smells, dirty water and a lack of proper water. They deserve more than an acknowledgement and a nod. It is simply not good enough in this day and age that they are living in such conditions. I ask the Minister of State to come back me on the issues I raised and I look forward to listening to his response to them.”
“I took a call yesterday from the residents of Ballymany Manor in Newbridge, County Kildare. I was informed that residents in this estate are living without running water for at least 12 hours per day, and always during daylight hours when the water is needed most. I contacted the reps desk this morning about the stories I heard yesterday. Young families with newborn babies were not able to wash them and young children returning from sports activities were not able to take a shower. The residents have been told their system needs a new motor, which they have been told has been approved. They have also been told there is no date as to when this might happen. We hear from the Government that it will invest in water and wastewater systems.”
“To my dismay, when I received my tenth update from the reps desk this week, I was hit with the old chestnut that this estate was not in charge and that there was no more that Uisce Éireann could do with it. I would love to know what happened to the plan I was told a month ago was progressing. This is something I am sure the residents will not be happy about and I fear having to go back to tell them about this. I am also aware of at least four, if not five, estates in Kildare South where, on a weekly basis, private tankers are tankering water from inadequate or broken down sewerage systems. I wonder how much this is costing the State. Much of this tankering has now been in place for at least ten years. I would love to know the plans for these estates, including Allen Court, Timolin, Moone, Kilmead as well as one or two others.”
“I previously raised in the Upper House the urgent need for an emergency number at weekends and the flexibility of staff to respond to an emergency. It is simply not good enough that this estate was effectively closed down on a bank holiday weekend. I want to return to estates not being taken in charge. If there was an all-Ireland prize for pass the parcel, Uisce Éireann would be the clear winner, and also the defending champion. In my home town of Athy, in one estate raw sewage has flowed into homes on a number of occasions, and unfortunately into a neighbouring estate as well. I began working with the residents, the council, the developer and Uisce Éireann. I was progressing it with the council and Uisce Éireann and a number of meetings took place onsite. A plan was progressing. How it would be funded was always mentioned.”
“I put on the record that the staff I deal with on the ground could not be more helpful to me in the course of my work, but they too are getting more frustrated each day as they tell me they cannot help with simple investigations, and that they must be listed through the rep system before they can even deal with them. An example of what is happening on the ground relates to a local town, Castledermot. Last year, over a bank holiday weekend there was a sewage leak in an estate. Although it was a beautiful weekend, parents could not let their children out to play as paths, roads and green areas were covered in raw sewage. The local staff informed me that their hands were tied, the estate was not in charge and I would have to wait until Tuesday of the following week before something could be done.”
“All politics is indeed local. Not a week goes by without me using the Oireachtas line to make inquiries on behalf of the constituents I represent in Kildare South. Increasingly, the responses from that line have become much more frustrating. I am not sure where we are going with this particular utility, who is in charge and where the funding will come from. That is the first response to constituents or to me when I ring. The issue of funding is what is thrown at them first when they seek answers. I welcome the statements, but as colleagues in the House have outlined – and will continue to outline during this debate - our jobs as public representatives in dealing with these queries is getting much more difficult, and has become very frustrating.”
“I want to raise the recently announced figure of €325 million for the social housing second-hand acquisitions programme. My county of Kildare received €15 million under that programme and it is the tenant in situ part of the circular I want to talk to the Minister about. Kildare County Council has purchased 84 properties over the past year and that is obviously 84 families who have been kept out of homelessness. Unfortunately, under the circular the money the council has to allocate for those purchases must come from the €15 million and the total of those moneys is €14.5 million. It also has commitments of €3.3 million to the buy and renew scheme, which means all the money allocated is gone with no new money available. I am dealing with five families who have been told in the past week they will not get a tenant in situ property.”
“I hope the Minister will ensure such bereaved people are not missed out on in the Bill. We have highlighted a number of cases. I look forward to working with the Minister on the important progress of this Bill through the House and its speedy conclusion for the many families who require it.”
“However, when they met, divorce was not legal in Ireland and Johnny had previously been married. Sheila and Johnny had a daughter together and they were a family. Unfortunately, Sheila was forced to sell her home when Johnny died because she was refused the widow's pension. I hope cases like this will be dealt with through this Bill. It could also give rise to a situation whereby two payments are being made through the one person. I hope that the Minister will clarify what happens in cases such as Sheila's. If a deceased partner had been married but was estranged from their wife and started a new committed and intimate relationship with somebody else, could both the estranged wife and other partner claim the pension? This could be an anomaly in the Bill that might result in an inequity in cases of prior marriage.”
“At the end of his caring role, the man became ill and so required care himself. His partner needed to provide care until, sadly, he passed away. The grieving woman had her application denied based on the fact that she and her partner had not been cohabiting. The Department needs to show some compassion in cases like this. It is not always possible for two people in a committed relationship to live together, as outlined in this case. I ask the Minister to consider that. I hope the Minister will be able to speak about whether a situation could arise in which two payments could be made for the same person. In a case I am aware of, that of Sheila Duffy and her late partner, Johnny, the couple were in a loving and committed relationship for over 35 years until Johnny's death in 2021.”
“If there is alignment with the two-year criterion, it might not be an issue. The Minister needs to clarify this as those who were bereaved before January 2024 are worried that the necessary documents may not be available due to the time it has taken the Bill to come before us. There will always be anomalies in legislation, as colleagues have said. As legislators, it is important for us to make this Bill as robust as possible to ensure the people most impacted can benefit from its provisions. I want to raise the case of a bereaved woman who falls outside the scope of the Bill. For all intents and purposes, she was part of a very loving and committed couple who were cohabiting. However, the woman's partner needed to stay for a number of months outside their family home and in a different county to care for his mother.”
“I therefore ask the Minister to consider reducing the period of five years to two years so grieving partners without children can also avail of the widow's pension for the same duration as those with children. The Bill refers to intimate and committed relationships. I ask the Minister to clarify the exact burden of proof the Department of Social Protection will need to determine whether a relationship was indeed intimate and committed. Is it a bank statement or utility bill? I am aware of a case where the bereaved partner was the homeowner and the deceased partner was not on the mortgage. There was a difficulty in providing proof of cohabitation even though it was obvious to everyone in the bereaved person's life. How far back will the Department go in determining whether a bereaved partner qualifies for the scheme?”
“If you are unmarried with children, you qualify if you have been cohabiting for two years, and if you do not have children you must be cohabiting for five years. That seems extraordinarily unfair and seems to further discriminate between those with children and those without. It creates an unfair balance when the point of this Bill was to amend the imbalance between unmarried and married families. Regardless of whether there are children, we should not discriminate between families based on the fact that some have children and others do not. A family, as has been said by colleagues, is based on love, not the ability to have children.”
“I know how difficult that is but, as colleagues have said, it is very important for many families in this State. This, of course, has also been highlighted by organisations like Treoir, which have asked for eligibility to be given to cohabiting partners who lost their loved ones before the O'Meara case, ensuring support going forward or indeed through backdated payments. I ask the Minister to clarify whether he has done any work in advance on such cases. While it is welcome that the Bill is going beyond the Supreme Court ruling by extending provision to unmarried couples without children, I challenge why the Minister has deemed it necessary to create two different qualifying terms.”
“Overnight the man's life and indeed his children's lives changed completely. After his partner passed away, he went into his local Intreo office and was told that if only he had been married, he would get the widow's pension and bereavement grant. The man is now living on the jobseeker's transition payment and is, of course, awaiting the enactment of this Bill. While this issue came to the forefront of policy in the past few years, there are many families who have been fighting for ten or even 15 years for access to the widow's pension. I have highlighted this with the Minister. I note that, in his reply, he said he would consider making other supports available to those who fall outside the scope of the Bill. I would appreciate once again confirmation from the Minister that he is still considering this.”
“Treoir has stated it is now over a year since the ruling in favour of John O'Meara and has called on the Government to enact the Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2025. I welcome the fact that the Minister seems to have gone beyond the original ruling and is extending the Bill's provisions to those bereaved without children. In previous contributions I had with the Minister, he confirmed to me that there were 331 applications on file since the Supreme Court ruling. It would be very helpful if he were to state the number of applications made for people whose partners passed away before January 2024. A case brought to my attention is that of a bereaved man whose partner died suddenly from a rare heart condition in 2018. The couple had two young children together.”
“I want to thank him, as the Minister did last night and again today, for his work in supporting the O'Meara family. He stood with them through all parts of this case. It was a very important episode for the O'Meara family, and indeed for Deputy Kelly. Thankfully they got the result that so many people in their situation deserve, and the memory of Michelle will last long. I also want to mention Treoir. As the Minister knows, it does amazing work supporting unmarried parents and has been at the forefront in highlighting issues relating to unmarried parents for some time. I acknowledge all the bereaved families who have waited so long for this Bill to come before us in the Dáil today. When the Supreme Court made its ruling, Treoir remarked that it was "a hugely significant moment for recognising the diverse family life in Ireland".”
“I thank the Minister, Deputy Calleary, for his work on this Bill, and his officials for bringing it to us so quickly. It is very important to thank John O'Meara and his family for the work they have done. They have always kept the memory of Michelle to the forefront of their endeavours. They got the result they deserved, and which all the families they represented deserved, through the Supreme Court. I want to echo the calls from my colleague Deputy Alan Kelly that the Bill would be called after Michelle. This call is supported by the Sinn Féin Party as well. That is very welcome. I am aware the Minister considered it when he met John O'Meara. The O'Meara family have done great work for so many people. My colleague Deputy Alan Kelly unfortunately cannot be with us today.”
“I ask the Minister of State to go back and look at this once again. I mentioned the village of Suncroft before. We have been waiting on a service there. I am working with the local manager, Alan Kerry, to provide that service. The village of Suncroft has no direct services to the towns of Kildare and Newbridge. It is badly needed. I will continue to work with the NTA. The Minister of State might speak to the local services and the NTA about the village of Suncroft. I appreciate the Minister of State's replies.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I think it is important to mention a few Local Link services. The 883 service has been a game-changer for many people in my home town, Athy. It links them in and allows them to get employment in the likes of Kildare Village and Newbridge. It is a game-changer and it should be expanded. One of the issues is for the village of Nurney, which does not have a Sunday service, because that link has no Sunday service. That will be a game-changer for villages that have been isolated, as the Minister of State said, and need the links. The Government has expanded the 880 service and it has made a difference. There is no doubt, throughout rural Ireland, that Local Link is making a difference. School transport and seven-day Local Link services are badly needed.”
“I believe that Local Link and school transport should act together and provide that service for those who are living in rural Ireland and the villages that need it. Will the Minister of State comment on that in his reply?”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in today and for his kind words. I look forward to working with him as we did previously in the Seanad. I welcome that Deputy Buttimer is the new Minister of State with responsibility for rural transport, because one of the issues we discussed before was the M7, which was unfortunately a car park again this morning. I hope we can develop that idea. An Indecon report on rural transport was written in the past year. I believe it is with the Minister of State at the moment. I would like to know the status of that. I put on the record again the difference that Local Link makes. My Kildare-south Dublin Local Link is a tremendous service. It has been a life-changer for many people. There are issues with developing and linking it, particularly with school transport.”
“I ask the Minister and Minister of State about the ongoing plans in the Department about the continuing challenges facing communities in rural areas such as the cost of and in accessing transport services. Are those plans are included in new future development for Our Rural Future, as presented by the Government? Will the Minister of State make a statement on the matter?”
“Since 2022, there are nearly 24,000 Ukrainians at work and more than 17,000 children at school. That is an important figure for many of our schools, particularly for our rural schools where school numbers have been boosted by the welcome inclusion of Ukrainian children, thus ensuring that many of these rural schools continue to be the heartbeat of our rural communities. These are important figures we need to consider when debating this motion. We cannot ignore the fact that for many of these people, the return to their home country may be a long way away. While I hope there is a ceasefire soon that will lead to long-lasting peace in the region, a lot of work is needed to rebuild Ukraine. For the reasons outlined, the Labour Party cannot support the motion.”
“The payment is also far cheaper than the alternative of emergency accommodation, which is effectively where many of these Ukrainians may end up. The Irish Red Cross survey suggests that the State could save between €1 billion and €2 billion every day based on the current numbers. This would unduly take a lot of pressure off the private rental market. The payment has also played a huge role in helping many Ukrainians integrate into their local community, which is always important in a host country. Some 83% of hosts agree they have played a role in helping their Ukrainian guests integrate into Irish society, while 70% of hosts think their guests have successively integrated within their local community. This is further supported by the fact that many Ukrainians are also working and adding to the Irish economy.”
“It is the Labour Party’s view that by reducing the payment, the Government is putting Ukrainians at a serious risk of homelessness, which will lead to increased pressure on the private market and a worsening of the housing crisis this country is currently experiencing. This is clearly supported by the findings of an Irish Red Cross survey. Only 9% of properties in the survey were previously registered with the RTB. There would, therefore, be no freeing up of accommodation to the market. Some 86% of hosts reported that their ARP payment is important for them to continue their hosting arrangements. This would suggest that nearly 30,000 Ukrainian refugees face the risk of homelessness if the scheme was removed.”
“Ireland has been a place of safe refuge, as the Minister said, for nearly 40,000 Ukrainians out of the total number from that war-torn country who have come to our shore seeking safety. That is across, as the Minister also said, almost 20,000 active claims for the accommodation recognition payment. While I acknowledge the scheme has worked well in many respects, there are a few issues over the length of time it has been in place. I welcome the news that the Minister plans to extend the scheme for another year into 2026. However, the Labour Party does not support the Government’s plans to reduce the payment by a quarter from €800 to €600, albeit from June 2025.”
“I have two requests for the Minister of State today. First, that he brings the request for an on-site meeting back to the Minister as quickly as possible and, second, that he asks the Minister for Health and the HSE why we cannot reopen the centre in Ballyteague given that a service provider has been on-site and has informed local people and, I believe, the HSE, that it can run the site and run the service within a couple of weeks to cover the three months while we are waiting for the new centre to open in Kilmeague.”
“That is the question we are all asking. For those couple of months, why cannot we allow that provider to reopen the doors in Ballyteague GFC and allow those people to go back and have that cup of tea and meet their friends? That is what they want and what they most need. A couple of months can be such a long time for all those people. The other ask that has been made by a number of public representatives is that the Minister responsible would go out to Ballyteague GFC and meet the people on the ground. I am asking again tonight that the Minister of State might bring that request back to the relevant Minister. Meeting the people on the ground, talking to them and hearing their stories would allow the Minister to feel the impact this has had. Three months in the life of an older person is a lifetime and can be so life-changing.”
“I appreciate the Minister of State's reply. He mentioned that there are a couple of months. Unfortunately, as we all know, a couple of months is a long time for older people. It is an especially long time when someone is asking their caregiver in the morning if they can go back to where they know best, and the caregiver cannot say they can. A person's whole system could be upset by that fact. On the reply the Minister of State has given me, public representatives in County Kildare have received that over the last number of weeks and indeed up to today. What we cannot understand is this: we have been informed that a certain new service provider has actually visited the centre in Ballyteague and is willing to start in the next couple of days. It is willing to open the centre in Ballyteague GFC as Allenwood daycare centre once again.”