Mark Ward
Dublin Mid-West · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“The second largest part of the subvention is the €4.1 billion that relates to public debt. Ireland would have no legal liability to pay any part of this. The cost of defence and international relations is approximately €2.7 billion and almost none of this expenditure relates to activity taking place in the North.”
“It has not allowed us, as a nation, to reach our full potential. I also think it is important that we take the current financial situation in the North seriously. It is always disappointing when Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael use the North as a stick to beat Sinn Féin. Even the Labour Party used this tactic this week.”
“It has been a long-standing policy of Sinn Féin to bring waste management back to public control. Privatisation has failed ordinary people. Bin companies act like a cartel in how they raise their prices. When one company increases its price, the rest follow.”
“The total subvention includes central British Government costs allocated to the North that would not be relevant to a united Ireland and here is why. The subvention from the British Exchequer to the North was €16 billion in 2023.”
“I thank Deputy Sherlock for bringing forward this legislation to bring bin collections back to public control. I am disappointed but not surprised that the Government is opposing this legislation. Fine Gael has a long history and policy of privatising public services.”
“We have a situation that allows multiple bin trucks to operate on the same street. On my road there could be three different companies coming down the road, sometimes at the same time. This goes against everything we are trying to achieve to make waste collection more environmentally friendly.”
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“Will the Government's task force on Dublin tackle the privatisation of waste management and bring it back to public ownership?”
“The Dublin city task force and Dublin City Council recommended that a single waste management company should provide bin collection services, with a further recommendation that, in the long term, waste services should be taken under the control of Dublin City Council. This is positive and will be welcomed by householders across Dublin. The Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Environment and Climate Action made a similar recommendation. The wholesale privatisation of bin services in 2012, which was opposed every step of the way by Sinn Féin, has been a complete and utter disaster for Dublin. It has led to a wild west situation, where up to a dozen bin companies charge ever-increasing prices for a service that is not fit for purpose. Waste management companies are operating like a cartel.”
“Following a meeting with the Saggart Village Residents' Association, we have written to the Minister urging him to have a meeting with the local community as a matter of urgency to discuss their concerns. Is the Government considering purchasing Citywest as a public IPAS centre? Can the Taoiseach ask the Minister to meet the people of Saggart?”
“There are reports the Citywest complex in Saggart will be purchased by the State to become a public International Protection Accommodation Services, IPAS, centre. Citywest currently accommodates 2,000 people seeking refuge. It is deeply disappointing residents and elected representatives only heard this from newspaper reports. Deputy Ó Broin and I have contacted the Minister for Justice to try to get answers on behalf of residents and none have been forthcoming. We are strongly of the view no decision should be made about the future of Citywest without real and meaningful engagement with local residents, community and elected representatives.”
“I genuinely think it is wrong that pupils today in my area are still using the same prefabs I used 37 years ago. Those prefabs were 15 years old when I used them 37 years ago and the pupils there are still using them. The Minister said the assessment is taking place now, but the response I got yesterday stated it has been completed.”
“I first attended St. Kevin's 37 years ago and these prefabs were in situ when I went to school. It is a school in an extremely disadvantaged area, but one that often punches above its weight. In fact, the Taoiseach visited the school last year to see the award-winning DEIS Connect programme. I wonder whether he knew there were kids in 50-year-old prefabs out the back. As I said, I used these prefabs when I went to school. I have aged in the last 50 years and I can only imagine how much these prefabs have aged. I visited the school a few months ago. I do not say this lightly, but I was genuinely concerned about the health and safety of the pupils and their teachers. I walked across the floor and I genuinely thought it was going to give way. I reported this to the Health and Safety Authority. An investigation is ongoing.”
“Yesterday, I got the response from the Department that the Minister has given me now in relation to the additional school accommodation scheme for St. Kevin's. The assessment has been completed. What was its outcome? The Minister said it is difficult to give a timeline, but 50 years is a long time to have prefabs in situ . I am pressing to see if we can get some sort of timeline to get these prefabs replaced.”
“I am a former pupil of St. Kevin's Community College and have been working with the school for a long time - not just since 2024 - to get these prefabs replaced. The school and I have been receiving some contrasting information from the Department in the last months. In April, a communication referred to when the school had appointed a design team and the site presenting technical challenges, and that the Department was awaiting a decision from the school authority regarding how to proceed. The school was never asked to appoint a design team, so I do not know what that communication coming back was about. In May, the Department contacted me again and confirmed that the school's application was being considered by officials and that they had been in contact with the school authority in relation to the application.”
“I am asking for an update on the application from St. Kevin's Community College in Clondalkin to replace their 50-year-old prefabs. These prefabs are old. They are not fit for purpose. They are not a good learning environment for pupils or a good working environment for teachers. I have health and safety concerns that I have reported to the appropriate authorities. When will these 50-year-old prefabs be replaced?”
“I have the ability to make an advance healthcare directive as to how I would like my future healthcare to be rolled out as I get older. It is something I keep saying I will do but I have not done, but I can do that. As regards somebody who has been involuntarily detained, I have met a number of people and have spoken about this in the media a number of times. For example, if they would have received ECT treatment when they were involuntarily detained in the past, that is something they would not like to see again if they had to go into a psychiatric facility. However, they do not have the ability to make that decision under the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act and this Bill. There was a lacuna between the two Bills. Has that lacuna been breached or have we managed to resolve it in this Bill?”
“I would have been all over this Bill had it been brought before the House last year, when I was still the spokesperson on mental health. I will ask a question and I presume it is in this Bill because it is about involuntary admissions and the lacuna as regards the Assisted Decision-Making (Capacity) Act. If the Minister of State remembers correctly, there was a lacuna between that Act and this Bill whereby the only people who were excluded from making advance healthcare directives were people who were involuntarily detained under the Mental Health Act. I know I am reaching a little here, but does this overall Bill breach that lacuna? Does it answer any questions that that lacuna created? I will use myself as an example. As the Minister of State knows, I have a neurological condition. I have spoken about it regularly enough.”
“Gardaí do that training on a voluntary basis to get an insight into how people get to the stage where they are under mental health duress. Such engagement is always welcome. A code of practice that sets out guidelines for helping people in that situation should be in place.”
“Our amendment makes provision for a code of practice for staff working in registered acute mental health centres, gardaí, HSE authorised personnel, GPs and anybody else involved in the provisions of this section. The development of such a code of practice would be really welcome as it would give guidelines to people - especially gardaí, who are sometimes at a loss - on how to work with persons who are under mental duress. I know some gardaí who have undertaken specific training to help them deal with these types of situations, but such training is not mandatory and is not always made available. I remember the first time I had gardaí taking part in the applied suicide intervention skills training, ASIST, programme I was delivering, which helps people to identify the signs of suicidal feelings.”
“For too long, members of An Garda Síochána have been the gatekeepers for mental health services. When I speak to gardaí in my constituency, which I do on a regular basis, one of the issues they raise is when people arrive at the station under mental duress and they try to help them. A psychiatrist will sometimes come out to a Garda station and may or may not make a decision as to whether the person needs to be involuntarily detained. More often that not, people are not detained and are sent back out into the community where the gardaí will encounter them at a later time. I welcome the pilot project in Limerick, which witnesses before the health committee spoke about earlier today. It is a good initiative that can curb some of the problems we are discussing. I would like to see it rolled out across the State.”
“It was ruled out of order for the money rule. I find that really disappointing. My concern is that because it has happened in the past, it could happen again. I appreciate that the Minister of State has done an awful lot of work on it over the last while. I wonder what safeguards we could have in place. If there is no appropriate facility where a child can access the appropriate mental health care, it is not a failure in legislation; it is a failure in service provision. That is where the failure comes in. This legislation is papering over the cracks of the service provision that is there when it comes to appropriate mental health care. I would like to know what safeguards will be in place to stop what was happening in the past when young people were in adult psychiatric facilities, sometimes for weeks on end.”
“I am not sure whether they all had the consent of their parents for being in there either. I am very disappointed that Deputy Clarke's amendment was ruled out of order for a money reason.”
“I appreciate the work that has been done by the Minister of State and the HSE in reducing the number of young people who have been admitted into adult psychiatric facilities under her tenure. It is acknowledged and it has worked but, as she knows, I always say that we should set the bar high. Let us aim for zero because that is what we should be aiming for. I am not questioning the Minister of State's bona fides in relation to the five people who were admitted last year. They had the consent of their parents and they were all 17 years of age, but that was not always the case. That is my concern. Because it was not always the case, it could happen again. We have had debates here previously on instances where young people were in adult facilities for weeks on end. That was very early in the Minister of State's tenure, but it was happening.”
“I am a bit concerned about her mentioning how this could be put in via secondary legislation. How long has this legislation taken to get to the Stage it is at? Secondary legislation could be another way of kicking this down the road. Dual diagnosis could be put on the long finger and not dealt with. Does she have a timeframe for that secondary legislation and when we would see anything like that implemented?”
“People were trying to access both services and were being sent away from the addiction services because staff in those services did not have the training and understanding of how to deal with mental health issues. People were going across to the mental health services and being told to go look after their addiction issue and then come back, so they were falling between the cracks. What often happens then is a community response takes place because the community has to evolve and respond to what is going on in that community. That is what happened there. The community responded by setting up a cross-departmental working group between the two services. It just evolved over time and it really works. I have one question and the Minister of State might be able to come back to me on it.”
“The Minister of State and I have had many debates over the years on mental health and dual diagnosis. The very first legislation I introduced here in 2021 was the Health (Amendment) (Dual Diagnosis: No Wrong Door) Bill. I introduced it because working in mental health and addiction services I saw the real need for that. I understand 100% why Deputy Clarke is looking to have this enshrined in the Bill because I fear if that is not done and this is not given the parity of esteem it needs, it could fall between the cracks. Vulnerable people who have addiction and substance misuse issues along with mental health issues often fall through the cracks. When I was working in front-line services, I was working in an addiction service. Right across the road there was a mental health service.”
“I have never seen the likes of it. What does the Government do to resolve this? It looks after industrial landlords and the vulture funds by removing the sole protection renters had, which was rent caps. Instead the Government will link rents to inflation. The Minister of State can shake his head all he likes. It is going to link rents to inflation. One would need to be living under a rock not to realise what inflation has been like over the past number of years. The price of food, petrol, gas and electricity has gone through the roof and now the Government wants to do the same with rents. Shame on the Minister of State and shame on this Government. Once again, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have shown that they are firmly working hand in hand with industrial landlords.”
“I have raised this numerous times, including with the Tánaiste previously. Many people have contacted me who started out in one local authority, had to move to a different local authority because of the housing crisis, have had children and integrated into that community and now have been told that if they would like to remain in that community in a council home, they will have to come off the list on which they started thereby losing all their time and starting again. This is a direct consequence of the housing crisis. Nobody should be waiting over 12 years for a home. A social housing passport would allow people to carry their time from one local authority to another. This is a very fair request. Rents in my area are at an all-time high. People tell me that new rents in some of the new builds in Lucan come in at over €3,000 per month.”
“As we speak, there are 83 vacant homes in my area of South Dublin County Council, five of which have been empty for more than a year. Each one of those homes should have a family living in it. It is disgusting that adults are stuck living in their parents' back bedrooms while the house next door is boarded up. Young people are boarding planes to Australia when they could be starting lives in these boarded-up homes. Children are walking past these boarded-up homes on the way back to hotel rooms they are sharing with their families. This is simply not good enough. Tonight Sinn Féin will bring forward a motion calling for urgent action to get these vacant homes back into stock and get families living in them. I am calling on everybody to support it. It is also time we introduced a social housing passport.”
“Will the Taoiseach guarantee that every child with special educational needs will have an appropriate school place in September?”
“At the weekend, I attended the Equality in Education protest in Dublin. The parents I met had a simple message. They want fairness and equality for their children with disabilities in education. No child should be left behind. Every child should get the support they need so they can grow, learn and flourish. Every child should be given every opportunity to reach their full potential. Not to do so is criminal. Denying any child an appropriate education is morally reprehensible. Parents should not have to fight for such a basic right for their child but fight they must. There are several families in my area in Dublin Mid-West who have not secured an appropriate place for their child for this September. I can send the details to the Taoiseach.”
“I urge every Member of the House, in both opposition and government, to be on that side. It is time to do the right thing. The time for talking is over and the time for action is tonight. Everybody with a conscience will vote in favour of the Sinn Féin Bill tonight.”
“We need to enact the occupied territories Bill in its entirety and not have some watered-down version. We need to enact the Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill. Tonight, the Government will vote on the sale of Israeli war bonds, the very bonds that are funding the genocide in Palestine and responsible for the dropping of bombs on the people of Palestine. The mealy-mouthed response of the Government last night was absolutely shameful. All said and done, and for all the talk of the Government, it is obstructing legislation that would punish those responsible for genocide. We will have a chance tonight to say genocide, murder, starvation, mass deportation, mass displacement and ethnic cleansing are not in our name. Tonight, everybody in this House will have a chance to be on the right side of history.”
“There is currently a social media campaign entitled “Don’t stop talking about Palestine”. I fully support it. People, including the campaigners, are concerned that there is fatigue setting in among some, who are asking what exactly they can do. I urge people to keep talking about Palestine and to keep protesting about it, including on the streets and in the Houses of the Oireachtas. I express my solidarity with Sophie Ní Choimín, who is currently on hunger strike for the people of Palestine. I urge people to keep sending us emails on Palestine. In the past couple of weeks alone, we have received thousands of emails from concerned people. I do not believe the Government is listening to the people of Ireland. In this House, the time for talking is over. It is now time for action.”
“We are getting contradictory responses back from the Department on why these have not been replaced. I was so concerned that I contacted the Health and Safety Authority in March about the floors after I walked across them and I have yet to receive a substantive response. In 2025 we have a school still using prefabs that are 50 years of age. These prefabs are not the modern build temporary accommodation. These are prefabs that probably had a ten-year shelf life. They were probably five years past their use when I first used them 37 years ago. I ask the Minister to do everything in her power to try to get these prefabs replaced. I will send her a note after this debate.”
“Kevin's Community College in Clondalkin. When I first attended the school 37 years ago, it was in temporary accommodation in Lucan. We were using prefabs then which were 15 years old. Now, 37 years later, the school is in a new location on the Fonthill Road. Despite the provision of some accommodation over the years, the school is still using same prefabs that I first used 37 years ago. I know I have aged over the last 37 years, but imagine how much the prefabs have aged in those 37 years. They are over 50 years of age now. It is not fair on pupils or staff. The prefabs are damp and floors are literally unsafe. I walked across them and I could feel the floors moving underneath my feet. Both the school and I are getting the runaround from the Department.”
“The Department has indicated it will no longer provide school transport to the new temporary location. The reason for this is that there is another Educate Together school of the same denomination closer to it. In theory this is correct but the reality is that this is a temporary location in Newcastle and the school should be located in Rathcoole. This is a direct consequence of the delay in building a new Educate Together school in Rathcoole. Parents and pupils are paying the price for Fianna Fáil's and Fine Gael's ineptitude in school provision. I ask the Minister to get the Department to continue to provide a bus for the pupils as a temporary arrangement until the new Rathcoole Educate Together school is built. I will send her a note after this debate. I also want to talk about my old school, St.”
“I take the opportunity to wish the best to both Ministers in their roles. There is not a TD on any side the House who does not wish them success because education is hugely important to our children. I want to raise a few local issues. Rathcoole Educate Together National School is currently in a temporary location in Citywest while it waits for a permanent building. It was told this would be a two-year temporary arrangement, but it has now been there for four years. It has now been told it will have to move to a new temporary location in the Newcastle area for the start of the new school term. This location will increase travel time for parents. A school bus has been provided by Department of education from Rathcoole to the current site in Citywest.”
“There have been small, but welcome, moves by the EU to review trade ties but the people of Gaza simply do not have time for reviews. They need action. Israel needs sanctions. That is the only way it will stop its genocidal atrocities on the people of Gaza.”
“That is straight out of the mouth of the Israeli finance minister. That is straight out of the mouth of a genocidal maniac. If any world leader made such statements and carried out such policies against any other people, there would be sanctions. There would be arms embargoes. There would be diplomatic consequences. Instead, there is silence and inaction. Yesterday, the United Nations warned that 14,000 babies in Gaza are at risk of dying in the next 48 hours. If emergency aid and medical access are not immediately restored, 14,000 babies will die. These are not military casualties. These are babies. They are starved, dehydrated and critically ill. Their deaths will not be tragic accidents. They will be deliberate consequences of Israel's genocidal policies and international inaction.”
“Gaza needs aid. Gaza needs a ceasefire. Israel needs sanctions. That may be a very simplistic message but that is what is needed right now. Israel has displaced the people of Gaza. Israel has murdered the people of Gaza. Israel has starved the people of Gaza. The people of Gaza are being ethnically cleansed right before our very eyes. If you do not believe me, believe the words of Israel's finance minister, Bezalel Smotrich. He said Israel is going to occupy the Gaza Strip. He then predicted that Gaza would be totally destroyed within a matter of months. He has vowed that the aid entering Gaza would be the minimum necessary to ensure the world did not stop them and accuse them of war crimes. Imagine that. He went on to say Israel will destroy everything that still remains in Gaza.”
“It is not often the Government gets things right when it comes to housing, but in the case of the tenant in situ scheme it was working. What does the Government do when something is working in housing? It moves the goalposts. South Dublin County Council has seen a significant cut on the 2024 expenditure on the tenant in situ scheme. The Government has imposed significant new restrictions on tenant in situ applications. All non-closed 2024 acquisitions must be reassessed under the new rules. I am dealing with at least 20 families who are left in limbo and are waiting on a decision. There is no guarantee with the changed criteria that they will be able to remain in their homes. Why did the Government change the rules on tenant in situ? If these families cannot remain in their homes, where are they to go?”
“We have to see the means test abolished and the Government parties have to stick to their pre-election promises because the people of Ireland simply will not forgive them if that is one of the promises the Government rolls back on.”
“Out of the 2,146 appeals, only 823 were not successful. I will be honest with the Minister of State. I will recommend to any parent out there who has been turned down for the domiciliary care allowance to appeal because based on these figures, it is likely they will win. As one parent said to me, "You would think the Government wants us to go away after we are turned down the first time." Looking at these figures, I have to agree with parents when they come to me like that. Another issue is the abolition of the means test for carers. That was one of the pre-election promises by Government. It is six months since that election and we have not seen any movement on that. We have to see movement on that; we cannot have another broken promise. We have to see carers recognised.”
“We are discussing funding for carers and I want to talk about one funding source, namely, the domiciliary care allowance. The domiciliary care allowance is payable in respect of a child under the age of 16 who has severe disability requiring continual care and attention. Over the past number of years I have noticed a pattern of people contacting me and coming to my office with the same problem with the domiciliary care allowance. A very high percentage of applicants seem to be turned down on their very first application only to get it on appeal. I submitted parliamentary questions to try to get to the bottom of this and see what information I could get back. I was informed that 33% of all first-time applications for the domiciliary care allowance were refused. Of this, 50% of the applicants appealed it.”
“When a child eventually receives an assessment of need, parents have to fight again to get the treatment that the assessment recommends. There is nothing worse than a parent receiving a letter to say they will be waiting years for an appointment for occupational therapy, speech and language therapy or psychology. In my own area, there is no psychology team or physiotherapy team for those who live in Palmerstown. There is a 183-week wait list for occupational therapy. There is no greater crime in this State than denying children the right to reach their full potential but that is exactly what Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are doing to our children.”
“The HSE is now recommending that parents take the HSE to court because assessments of need are not being delivered on time. One parent applied for an assessment of need for her son. The assessment was not provided within the six-month statutory time-frame. She made a complaint to the HSE using the correct procedure. The HSE again failed to provide the assessment on the new date it gave after the complaint. She asked the HSE what options were open to her at that stage and got a reply stating that the only escalation available to her at that point was for her to go to the Circuit Court. The system is so broken that the providers of the assessments are telling the parents to sue them. You could not make this up. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have turned their backs on our children.”
“At this moment more than 15,000 children are waiting for an assessment of need. An assessment of need is an assessment carried out by the HSE of children with disabilities. The assessment identifies the child's needs and what services are needed to meet them. This sounds like a simple procedure, but Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have made a right hames of it. They have scandalously left children waiting for the treatment that will allow them to reach their developmental milestones. Only 7% of assessments were completed within the six-month timeframe required by law. In 2023, the State spent €1.2 million defending itself against parents of children with disabilities because Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael broke the law. How messed up is that? It gets worse.”
“As the Minister said, the community safety partnerships were to be restructured to replace the JPCs. They were much promised by the Minister's predecessor, Deputy McEntee, and much lauded. It is very worrying to hear the Minister still has not signed off on these community safety partnerships. There is a vacuum. The JPC is vital in holding the Garda to account. Can the Minister enact this legislation? At the moment there are different approaches in different local authorities. Dublin City Council is continuing with the JPC structures but south Dublin has not had any JPC meeting since last May. I call on the Minister to act with urgency and sign off this legislation as soon as possible.”
“It received community safety funding to conduct research into how organised criminals were trafficking young people into criminality. It applied for the second part of this funding to expand the research but was denied. Will there be a review into the community safety fund to ensure it is fit for purpose and agile enough to meet the challenges of emerging trends in the youth just area?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I want to touch on the community safety fund again. This is money from organised crime that was seized by CAB and is meant to be invested in the communities most impacted by crime. These communities are in need of resources to strengthen their resilience against criminal activity. It is no coincidence that the majority of money seized by CAB originates in areas of high disadvantage. It is crucial that these areas get the support they need. I have met several front-line services in my role as party spokesperson on youth justice and community safety and they have concerns about the criteria. Yesterday, for example, Deputy Carthy and I met the Inner City Organisations Network, ICON.”
“Does he know when the new youth facility will open? Will the Government look at a multi-annual funding model for these programmes so that they can strategically plan for the future?”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. The question related to Meath, so I wanted to focus on youth diversion in the Ashbourne area. The area has seen a significant increase in population and I welcome the recent funds that were allocated from the community safety fund for Ashbourne. This is money that was seized by CAB and put back into communities to help them build resilience to crime. This is something my party campaigned for for a long time. The service in Ashbourne is helping approximately 30 young people and is in the process of moving into a new building that will then run a full youth service in Ashbourne. From speaking to my colleague, Deputy O'Rourke, I know this is something that is very positive and welcomed by the community. Has the Minister got an update on the programme in Ashbourne?”
“On behalf of my colleague Deputy Darren O'Rourke, I wish to ask about youth diversion programmes which offer huge benefits. They are aimed at preventing young people from becoming involved in the criminal justice system and at promoting positive development. These programmes can lead to reduced recidivism and can help young people to make a positive contribution to society. What plans does the Minister have to increase funding and expand youth diversion programmes in County Meath?”
“It is estimated that the cost of waiting to learn to drive can be up to €3,000. That is the increase for people who are on learners' permit and paying high insurance premiums for insurance. It also relates to the test. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State would look into those two matters. We need a second test centre in the south Dublin area.”
“I received a response from the RSA which stated that there are plans to open an additional centre in south Dublin and that it is currently looking for a suitable facility. I welcome this response, but there seems to be a lack of urgency in opening this second centre. Can the Minister of State find out what progress has been made in identifying a suitable location for this second test centre in South Dublin? When will it open? People in my area simply cannot be left to wait for 43 weeks. We need to see urgency from the Government, but we also need to see urgency from the RSA. People rely on passing their test to facilitate them in their education, employment, accessing healthcare and everything in between. The delays to which I refer are pushing up the cost of driving.”