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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“I want to talk about the scandalous waiting times at the driving test centre in Tallaght. The latest figures I have show that over 20,000 people in Tallaght are waiting for driving tests. This is a rise of 1,500 in the past six months. The only direction waiting lists go in this country is up. The statutory minimum time to sit the test is ten weeks. The waiting time in Tallaght is now a shocking 43 weeks. Being obliged to wait 43 weeks to do a driving test is unacceptable. When I did my driving test, there was a second test centre on Fonthill Road. For some inexcusable reason, this was closed down. That put more pressure on the Tallaght test centre. I have repeatedly campaigned for an additional driving test centre in the south Dublin area.”
“I move: That leave be granted to withdraw the Child Care (Amendment) Bill 2023 and the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2024, and, notwithstanding the Order of the Dáil of 1st May, 2025, that Deputy Joanna Byrne be designated the member in charge of the Broadcasting (Oversight of RTÉ Accounts) (Amendment) Bill 2024.”
“Several incinerators and waste management facilities across Europe suffered major damage when canisters exploded in their furnaces and compactors. This legislation will restrict the sale of nitrous oxide for commercial use only. This is similar to legislation introduced in Holland, where authorities are regulating the use of nitrous oxide outside the medical and catering industries. This Bill will not criminalise the young person simply for possession of nitrous oxide, but it will give the Garda more power to seize-----”
“I will tell the Minister of State that laughing gas is no laughing matter. A neurology specialist in the Mater hospital has warned of an increase in the number of patients suffering severe nerve damage after inhaling nitrous oxide. It was also reported that the gas causes a range of sensory issues, including numbness to the hands, feet and extremities, serious issues with balance, problems with heart rate and mental health issues. Earlier this year, we saw reports of an increase in young people presenting at health services after getting frostbite from using nitrous oxide. Some of the patients presented with burns around their lips and fingertips, which can take some months to resolve. There is also an environmental impact.”
“These large canisters are sold on the street by unscrupulous dealers making fast profits from the sale of nitrous oxide. Manufacturers are also marketing their product to children so they can sell to them. A report published by the HSE's adolescent addiction service showed a 22% increase in the number of young people attending that service who were taking nitrous oxide, which was a 175% increase in a year. That only captures young people who have to the attention of addiction services. The widespread use of nitrous oxide is resulting in antisocial behaviour, litter and damage to people's health. Young people are playing Russian roulette when they use this gas. Inhaling nitrous oxide cuts off oxygen to the brain and gives a light-headed, giddy effect. This is where the term "laughing gas" comes from.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to regulate and licence the sale of nitrous oxide to exempted purchasers, to prohibit the sale of nitrous oxide and nitrous oxide products to a person who has not attained the age of 18 years, and to provide for related matters. I welcome yesterday's comments by the Taoiseach that legislation was needed to tackle the misuse of nitrous oxide. Today, I introduce the Sale of Nitrous Oxide and Related Products Bill 2025 with my colleague Seán Crowe. You only have to walk through any park or housing estate in Dublin and beyond to see discarded nitrous oxide canisters. When I first noticed them in my area, they were small, silver, one-use canisters known locally as "silver bullets". Over time, this has changed to large industrial-sized canisters known as "fast gas".”
“Will the Government complete the national roll-out of community neurorehabilitation teams as committed to in the programme for Government?”
“I do not normally talk about my personal life in the House but today I will. I am one of over 10,000 people in this country with multiple sclerosis, MS. I was diagnosed with MS 18 years ago. The past two years have probably been the most challenging of those 18 years but right now I am probably in the best physical and mental condition I have been in for a long time. I have been critical in the past of how to get into the system for treatment but I want to commend the neurology team in Tallaght hospital on the record because, once I managed to get into the system, their care was excellent. The reason I am speaking about this today is that tomorrow begins MS awareness month. I will do 150 km throughout May for MS Ireland to raise awareness and support for people like me living with MS.”
“Gillian also informed me that, if Harvey had got the operation on his spine in the timeframe of four months laid out by Deputy Harris, his spine would now be straight. The curvature of his spine is now at 80° and he is scheduled to have more operations to rectify this. The major criticism that Harvey's parents and other parents have regarding the delays faced by children is that early intervention is absolutely key and humane. While Gillian and Stephen are grateful that Harvey is on the road to recovery, they cannot help but remember the 33 months for which Harvey had to endure the pain. These 33 months of Harvey's childhood were robbed from him. Harvey's parents want to see lessons learned from this so that no other child will be left waiting in pain.”
“We can be thankful that they were successful in that campaign but they were given no explanation or reason for Harvey having been removed in the first place. Harvey finally received the first of his two operations in November after 33 months on a waiting list. His mother, Gillian, informed me today that the difference since Harvey received his operation has been like night and day. Even during the difficult recovery stage, Harvey's breathing started improving and he has now started eating solid foods for the first time in six years. He is a different child since these operations were performed. However, his parents have said that despite the two operations, the curvature of his spine is only slightly less than when he was first put on the waiting list he was on for 33 months.”
“Earlier, I spoke with one of my constituents from Clondalkin. Gillian Sherratt is the mother of eight-year-old Harvey. Harvey is suffering from life-threatening spina bifida and scoliosis. He was on the waiting list to have an operation on his spine for 33 months. The Minister may remember when Harvey touched the hearts of the nation as a video showed him struggling to breathe as a result of his spinal curve leading to his rib cage twisting around his lungs and heart. His family have been campaigning vigorously for Harvey to have this life-saving operation. Despite being on a waiting list, his parents found out that Harvey was removed from the active waiting list without them being informed. Harvey's parents, Gillian and Stephen, had to campaign to have Harvey put back on the list.”
“He has requested that the council ensures that activities at the depot do not have a detrimental impact on the residents in Westbourne. It is my understanding that drinking water and wastewater operations, which are now under the remit of Uisce Éireann, are planned to move out of Deansrath in 2025 to a new depot. That cannot come soon enough for the residents of Westbourne. There are signs in place to remind staff to keep noise to a minimum and to keep the yard as clean as possible. Even with these signs, however, the residents of Westbourne say that despite numerous communications to South Dublin County Council and Irish Water, the problem remains as bad as ever.”
“Residents in Westbourne, Clondalkin, have stated that activity by the council and Irish Water trucks in the Deansrath depot takes place early and on most days of the week, including weekends. This work takes place at all hours of the week at the depot and is impacting the mental health of the residents in Westbourne. Soil, sand and rock collected by contractors at other sites are brought here and placed at the depot behind the houses on Westbourne Close, which residents say leads to noise and dust pollution. The Westbourne residents group wants waste materials stored and dealt with on the other side of the yard, away from residential housing. It also cites issues with rats and seagulls as a result of waste being dumped at the depot. The Sinn Féin councillor for the area, William Carey, has done Trojan work on this issue.”
“It has not worked in public transport, where we have seen a new phenomenon of ghost buses and a lack of confidence among commuters to use public transport. It has not worked in waste management, where we have seen cartel-like price hikes imposed on customers. It also has a negative impact on the environment, with multiple bin trucks going down the same roads at all hours of the day and night. The purpose of the Sinn Féin Bill was very simple. If the Government wanted the public to believe it had no intention of introducing water charges, it would simply have supported it. The Government had a chance to put this matter to bed, once and for all, but it failed to take this chance. I also wish to raise a local issue that is affecting residents in my area.”
“This conniving has been going on since 2017 with the Government's plan for the so-called excessive use charge. This is nothing but a Trojan horse. We all know that once the Government gets its teeth into the people of the State and introduces any form of domestic water charge, it simply will not let go. I was part of the Right2Water campaign and I joined hundreds of thousands of people across this island. We marched, we protested, we campaigned and we did not give up. Ultimately, we defeated the imposition of water charges. This united front defeated the privatisation interest of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil. Privatisation of public services simply does not work. In fact, it has been a disaster in some areas.”
“On Tuesday, Sinn Féin introduced a Bill in the Dáil that would scrap water charges for good and prevent the Government from introducing them in the future. It would put an end to the debate for good, even if the Government wanted to introduce charges for water. Lo and behold, surprise, surprise, the Government voted against this, leaving the door ajar to introducing water charges in the future. In fact, Deputy Ó Broin and I were the only two TDs in Dublin Mid-West who voted against introducing water charges for ordinary workers and families. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have been doing their usual flying of kites in recent weeks. They were conniving in the background to reimpose water charges through the back door. This sounded alarm bells and these alarm bells simply could not be ignored.”
“He just seems to want to get into the news cycle at every step. A previous speaker spoke about Palestine. Trump is also funding a genocidal regime in Israel. We need to do everything possible to stand up to Trump. On the subject of going to America and talking to presidents, the disregard that Donald Trump showed our Taoiseach the last time was unheard of.”
“These are fines the HSE received for not paying its bills on time, so basically €7 million flushed down the drain. I raised this in the Dáil in October and it appears that no action has been taken by the Government. It needs to act on this. The Minister for Health needs to put a system in place to stop the HSE haemorrhaging public money in this way. We have seen recruitment embargoes in the HSE and a lack of investment in vital treatment and this €7 million was wasted. It was not spent on anything. Public trust in Government spending is at an all-time low. While we worry about the impact of Trump's tariffs, which are irrational - it is difficult to talk rationale to an irrational mind - the Government needs to get its own shop in order first. Nothing about Trump's tariffs is justified.”
“I echo my colleague's comments about Deputy Geoghegan. I think he must have been under sponsorship to see how many times he could mention Sinn Féin in his three-minute speech. I think he made a few bob on that. On all the talk we had about backbenchers demanding speaking time in the next while, not all the Government backbenchers turned up for this important debate. It is a case of the Government speaking out of both sides of its mouth. Fine Gael would want to get its own shop in order. In times of economic uncertainty, the Government must stop wasting public money. Only today I received information about how the HSE has squandered €7 million of public money. I received a response from the HSE that reports it spent more than €7 million in prompt payment interest and compensation fees since 2022.”
“Arson attacks, many of which my area has been subject to over the past year or so, are not antisocial behaviour; they are criminal offences. We need to resource the Garda and give it the powers to deal with the criminal activity in our communities. Our communities have every right to feel safe.”
“They groom our children, suck the lifeblood out of our communities and offer nothing in return. We need to see projects, such as Solas and the one the Minister of State mentioned, replicated throughout the State and the rest of Dublin. I raised this matter with the Minister recently. Parts of my constituency are basically under siege by gangs of young people. This is often written off as antisocial behaviour. Nothing annoys a community more when it is said, "It is only antisocial behaviour." Let me be clear. Drug dealing is not antisocial behaviour; it is a criminal activity. Intimidation is not antisocial behaviour but a criminal activity. Vandalism of public and private property is not antisocial behaviour but a criminal offence. Assaults are not antisocial behaviour but are criminal offences.”
“They look around and see their area being regentrified. They see the new buildings going up and they know that they will never be able to afford a place to live in their own area. The outreach workers I accompanied were professional. They engaged with young people where they were at. They supported them in suggesting some positive changes they could make. Solas uses evidence-based methods that have led young people to move away from a life of crime. In an area of high poverty, it is very easy for young people to get involved in criminality. They see criminals with flash jackets, new runners, top of the range cars and a seemingly endless supply of money. They also see an attraction in becoming a somebody. However, let me be clear: these criminals are absolute nobodies.”
“The Minister of State mentioned a youth diversion programme that is in two locations so far. That is great but it needs to be in every constituency in Dublin and probably every constituency in the State. What he mentioned is only a drop in the ocean. Last year, I visited the Solas Project in Dublin 8. I accompanied its workers on outreach as they engaged with young people who are involved in crime or in danger of becoming involved in crime. Their motto is: "Nobody is too far gone, everybody is worth it, everyone can change, communities can improve, society can flourish." I agree with that wholeheartedly but they need to be resourced. That project needs to be replicated in other parts of our city and counties. I spoke with some of the young people who could see no way out of poverty other than getting involved in crime.”
“The Government needs to redress this imbalance and properly invest in housing, health and the educational needs of our young people. When the Government fails, vulnerable young people fall between the cracks of society. In a real republic, youth justice would give all the young people of this island an equal chance to reach their full potential, but successive Governments have failed in this. I am honoured to have been appointed the Sinn Féin spokesperson on community, safety and youth justice. I wish the Minister of State well in his role over the next year. I will work with him in a tangible way but I will also hold him to account. When we think of young people and crime, we usually think of gangs of youths up to no good, but what are we doing to engage with these young people?”
“We are discussing diverting young people away from criminal activity today. The best way to do that is to offer our young people hope. It is the hope that, if they fulfil their social contract, then the Government will do the same. Imagine being a young person in Ireland today and having the ambition to have a safe and secure home. It is almost impossible due to Government failings in housing. Imagine being a young person waiting for appointments with mental health services or disability services and being failed. Imagine being a young person who is waiting for a school place with provision for additional needs and being failed. I take the opportunity to express my solidarity with the parents who are sleeping outside Leinster House tonight for 24 hours to raise awareness that their kids are not getting special education places this year.”
“In my constituency of Dublin Mid-West, waiting times for speech and language therapies, occupational therapies and all other therapies are years long. We have children waiting up to four years for an appointment. Children are not being allowed the dignity to reach their developmental milestones. The Government has been embarrassed this week into moving on this and the funding has finally been approved. It also has to be pointed out that the person who launched this funding, former Minister of State, Senator Anne Rabbitte, failed to be re-elected in the last general election, failed to be elected to the Seanad and was subsequently appointed by the Taoiseach to the Seanad. It seems failure is rewarded by this current Government.”
“It was reported they died after the house collapsed. The reality is that an Israeli airstrike killed them. The roof did not collapse; the roof was bombed. They did not simply die; they were murdered. They were innocent civilians. Since Israel ended the ceasefire there has been 792 Palestinians murdered in the last number of weeks. When are we going to say enough is enough? The Taoiseach has recently announced that the EU will be breaking its spending limit for militarisation efforts. There is always enough money for war but never enough money for service for people. Before the last elections the Government announced a fund of €8 million for children with disabilities. Pearse Doherty revealed last week that the HSE had still not received approval nor funding for this grant, leaving many of my constituency stranded.”
“Why does Israel commit war crimes? It commits war crimes because it can. There is no retribution. It has no fear of retribution. The world needs to impose sanctions on Israel but this Government has shamefully taken the occupied territories Bill off the agenda despite misleading the public during the general election that it would be a priority. People want action. People want sanctions. The State needs to be brave and lead the way. If the Government had listened to the public then this Bill would have been progressed years ago. We have seen how Palestinian victims are described using passive language. Only last week, on RTÉ, we saw how four family members of a Palestinian doctor who was based in Ireland were said to have died in Gaza after their house collapsed on top of them. This is what RTÉ reported.”
“I wish to speak about the ongoing genocide in Palestine. The headline in the minutes of the European Council meeting read: "The European Council has been following the situation in the Middle East very closely since Hamas' terrorist attacks against Israel of 7 October 2023." For a layman reading this headline, you would think that Israel carried out no atrocities prior to 7 October. Palestine has been subjected to an apartheid regime by Israel for decades. Palestinians have seen their children gunned down, their lands robbed and they have been treated as second-class citizens by an oppressive occupying force. Since 7 October, what we have witnessed is genocide - a campaign to wipe out the Palestinian people from the face of this earth. Were there any discussions at the European Council meeting about sanctions against Israel?”
“Orlagh Aylward was stillborn in 2004. Her parents, Mildred and James Aylward, have tirelessly fought for recognition that her medical care in the lead-up to Orlagh's birth could have been different and if steps had been taken earlier, Orlagh would be here today to celebrate her 21st birthday. Mildred and James would like to move forward and to grieve their daughter. They received individual apologies from the staff in the Coombe, but they feel Orlagh's case should be recognised by the HSE and that the HSE should issue a sincere apology. I will send the Taoiseach notes on Orlagh's case. James and Mildred are asking the Taoiseach if he will follow up on this case with the HSE.”
“A father of seven in my area goes away every six months and when he comes home after serving in the UN, has to sign on for the working family payment to keep food on the table for his family. That is not good enough. It will not be the children of Government Ministers who will have to go away and serve their country. It will be the working poor who will have to go away. History tells us that, so have conversations with the ordinary rank and file to make sure Irish neutrality is kept 100%.”
“We have a proud history of United Nations peacekeeping in this State. Has the Minister of State had any conversations with ordinary rank-and-file members of our Defence Forces, who will be asked to go to war-torn countries to keep the peace? Has he had any conversations with UN veterans, those who have served this State with distinction? I am a proud son of a United Nations veteran. My father served this State, home and abroad, for more than 25 years. While he is really proud of his service, and his family is really proud of the service he has given, the main reason he served abroad was economic. Plain and simple, it was to put food on the table for me and the rest of my family. Fast forward 30 years since my dad last served, and we still have Defence Forces members going abroad for economic reasons.”
“Yesterday, we witnessed the Government ramming through legislation about Dáil speaking rights without going through the proper due process. The public are rightly concerned that it will do the same with Irish neutrality. Any changes to the triple lock and Irish neutrality must be put to the people to decide. Is the Government afraid of a referendum on Irish neutrality? The Tánaiste's proposal to abandon the triple lock breaches multiple commitments given to the Irish people, particularly during the referendums on the Nice and Lisbon treaties. It represents a fundamental and negative shift in Irish foreign policy and goes against the will of the Irish people. I again ask the Government to give the people the opportunity to vote in a referendum on this matter. Let the people have their say.”
“How do these parents explain to their children that they will have to go into emergency accommodation? What does the Government say to the landlords who entered this process in good faith? Later tonight, Sinn Féin will bring forward a motion from my colleague, Deputy Ó Broin, to fully fund the tenant in situ scheme, but I believe there is a proposed amendment to make it mean absolutely nothing. I ask, therefore, those from all parties and none to support our motion tonight and not to go with the amendments the Government has proposed. The Government got something right with the tenant in situ scheme. It has a chance to keep it going for the rest of this term.”
“Since January, this support has been suspended for new applications due to the failure of the outgoing Government to agree funding allocations for 2025. The Government is proposing a series of restrictions to the operation of the scheme, which would result in fewer purchases this year than last year. These restrictions are unnecessary and unwarranted. I was at a recent meeting with representatives of South Dublin County Council who informed me they have 71 homes approved for purchase under the tenant in situ scheme. Any funding restrictions or restrictions in how this scheme is operated could result in these 71 families becoming homeless. What does the Government say to these families who have been in this process sometimes for over a year?”
“It is not often that the Government gets things right when it comes to housing but, under pressure from Sinn Féin and other Opposition parties, the former Minister for housing, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, was forced to reopen the tenant in situ scheme. What does the Government do when it gets something right? It moves the goalposts. Since April 2023, the tenant in situ scheme has saved around 2,500 households from being made homeless. In my area, South Dublin County Council has acquired 118 homes for families through the tenant in situ scheme. These 118 homes are for families with children, couples, single people and pensioners. These tenants all received notices to quit from their landlords and were in real danger of becoming homeless.”
“It has been well documented in this House that you cannot call a person a liar in the Dáil, so I will refrain from doing so in what I have to say. Micheál Martin misled the people of Ireland in the recent election campaign, Simon Harris spoofed them and Jack Chambers simply told big, fat porky pies to them. They misled the electorate in saying they would build 40,000 homes. They knew this was not going to happen, yet this was what they told the people of Ireland in the lead-up to the general election. I have no faith that the housing crisis will be solved under this Government. It simply does not have the will or the ability to clean up the mess it made. A prime example of these proposed changes and cuts is the tenant in situ scheme.”
“Fianna Fail, Fine Gael and the Independents in government are now responsible for this. With each scandal the public’s confidence goes down. The public is losing respect for public representatives. Sinn Féin will restore this respect and confidence. Deputy Farrell outlined a number of measures we will bring in to have accountability and transparency when it comes to spending public money. We need those measures to be implemented as soon as possible.”
“Every time the HSE does not pay a bill on time - it could be for cleaning products or toilet rolls or something as simple that - it is fined. In the past two years the HSE has been fined €4.3 million for not paying its bills on time. We have seen embargoes in the health service, the lack of recruitment and the lack of investment, and this is €4.3 million that was not spent on anything. Before the Minister of State came into the Chamber, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, spoke about value for money and accountability. Who is accountable for this? Who is responsible for this dereliction of duty? Who is responsible for this waste of public money? It stops with the Government. It stops with the Minister of State. The Government has created a culture of wasting public money.”
“What we have seen from successive Governments is the mismanagement of public money. This money belongs to our communities and our people and could be invested in our local areas. In my own area there are local services on their knees. I was at a meeting last night with a local horse project that is on its knees trying to keep its operation going. This money could be spent on something like that. My community knows the value of a euro and it is an insult that the Government does not. Who is being held to account? I have not seen anyone being held to account. I will raise an issue that has not received much attention. Does the Minister of State know how much the HSE gets fined for not paying its bills on time?”
“The Government needs to simply stop wasting public money. It is as simple as that. What hurts people the most is that they know that money could be spent on things that would really benefit them. For example, the €9 million spent on mobile phone pouches, which were spun as being a mental health support, could have been spent in schools on face-to-face mental health supports that children really need. There is a lack of those supports in the country at the moment. We have seen other examples, such as the never-ending amount of money being spent on the children’s hospital. How can a project go €1 billion over budget? There will have to be a tribunal on this in future. There was €336,000 spent on a bike shed and €1.4 million on a security hut. The list goes on and on.”
“We need targeted youth services. There are good examples of services that target young people not where people think they should be but exactly where they are at. I used to work in these services, but they cannot just be in pockets across Dublin; they need to be right across the whole city.”
“South Dublin County Council has not done anything as of this moment and cites lack of direction from the Department of Justice. These forums are in place in order that local representative can hold the councils, the Garda, transport services and others to account. Will the Minister give clear instructions to local authorities to put in place community safety partnerships and stop this confusion once and for all? We also need other actions on scramblers and e-scooters. These need to be regulated and policed. We need regulation on nitrous oxide. Having discarded so-called “laughing gas” canisters all over our communities gives another sense of lawlessness. I introduced legislation last term to stop these canisters ending up in the hands of our young people. I will be reintroducing it very soon and asking for Government support.”
“We need visible gardaí on the street so areas like mine can breathe. As for other actions that can help our communities feel safe, as Deputy Carthy said we need to see the community safety partnerships up and running. Two weeks ago, when responding to my colleague, Deputy Doherty, at Leaders’ Questions, the Minister, Deputy McEntee, spoke about the progress of community safety partnerships, which look at community safety from a whole-of-community perspective. These vital cogs have not been set up. Despite the Minister’s predecessor’s response, the two biggest local authorities in this State have taken different roles to fill this vacuum by having no community safety partnerships. Dublin City Council has just continued with the old joint policing committee.”
“I contacted the current Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, after the 14-year-old boy was stabbed and all I got back were holding replies and no new resources for my area, which is already under siege. One night last year we had one Garda car operating in the whole of Clondalkin and Ballyfermot, which is a huge area. This is simply not good enough. There are other parts of my constituency where residents are afraid. Gangs are terrorising their areas. Open drug dealing, nightly fires, intimidation, assaults and vandalism are regular occurrences. This is not antisocial behaviour, which is how it is being put out in the media; it is criminal activity. The local gardaí, in fairness to them, are doing their best with the resources they have, but they need more. We will not police our way out of this totally, but we need more gardaí.”
“Families and neighbours are terrified, wondering if they will be next. My community feels abandoned. An 11-day-old baby had to be evacuated after a recent arson attack. Shots are being fired across gardens in broad daylight. In another attack, a young boy was hacked with a machete in broad daylight. A man was charged with attempted murder after a hit-and-run incident. A 14-year-old boy was recently stabbed and brought to hospital in a serious condition. To add to the fear of and sense of lawlessness of our community, this has all played out on social media. I wrote to the previous Minister for Justice last June and again in October to request a task force for the area. I contacted her again in November, when the 11-day-old child had to be evacuated after the arson attack.”
“The recent high-profile murder of a man in Dublin has brought media attention to safety in our city. The reality of the situation is that once a high-profile instance happens in the city, already scant Garda resources are pulled from other areas, including my own, leaving already traumatised communities feeling abandoned. If I know this, we have to believe that the criminals acting in my area know it too. The Minister mentioned gangland feuds. Not all gangland feuds are hitting the media like the previous ones. In my area of Dublin Mid-West, there is an ongoing feud. I have lost count of how many homes in my area have been petrol-bombed in the past 12 months. Nobody should have to lose his or her home like that. In some instances, the wrong homes have been targeted. When this happens, the whole community goes into alert.”
“I congratulate the Minister and the Leas-Cheann Comhairle on their new roles. I wish them all the best. We are living with the legacy of serious Government failures and the neglect of policing and community safety. These are failures of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. There have been fewer gardaí on the streets of Dublin since Fine Gael came into government. We are now getting mixed messages. The former Minister for Justice, Deputy McEntee, declared that Dublin is safe but the current Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan, declared that some parts of our city are unsafe. Which is it? The first thing you need to do to tackle a problem is to recognise there is a problem in the first place. I am a proud Dubliner and it hurts me to say there are parts of my city and county that are unsafe.”
“I will send the Minister and Minister of State a note about these cases, and would appreciate anything they can do. It is heartbreaking. I could mention many more people as well. The last thing I want to bring up with the Minister of State, Deputy Murnane O'Connor, is regarding older people who are being forced to move out of nursing homes for whatever reason. We had two in my area last year, one in Cherry Orchard Hospital and one in Lucan Lodge. Both were for different reasons. There is transfer trauma, and residents and their loved ones feel they are not being listened to. I was on the picket line with them. They felt they were not getting a response back from the Government. If there was engagement that involved sitting down with Ministers and the Department, that would really help.”
“Mary was to have surgery in Beaumont hospital in March last year. This was cancelled. She got another appointment for surgery for May; this was cancelled. She got another appointment for July last year and it was cancelled. Mary is in a lot of pain and is concerned about her tumour. Beaumont have now stated that they believe the tumour may be a slipped disc that is mimicking a tumour and they want to send her for an MRI. She has not received that appointment yet. These are two examples - a 74-year-old woman with a suspected tumour and an 86-year-old Alzheimer's patient - of people who are not getting the services they deserve. The way Maureen's family member put it to me was this: she worked all her life, she paid her taxes and has been a really good citizen in our country, and they believe the social contract was broken with Maureen.”