Mary Lou McDonald
Dublin Central · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Now he watches as Paudie, his other son, aged 16, deteriorates with the same disease. He says Paudie does not have weeks to wait. He says, "I can't lose him [too]. He is all I have left." That is what is at stake here. This is urgent. Caithfidh an Rialtas an rud ceart a dhéanamh dóibh siúd a bhfuil Friedreich's ataxia orthu.”
“We know that both scramblers and e-scooters are being used by gangs to distribute drugs, to openly and actively intimidate, and to evade the gardaí and, yet, we heard the Garda Commissioner say that there would be no chance of pursuit training until next year because of the EU Presidency. I found that really shocking.”
“Their hopes were very high that the HSE drugs committee would finally approve Skyclarys, but those hopes were to be dashed. The committee decided against approving the drug. Instead, it referred it to a rare disease review group. In other words, one committee passing the buck to another committee.”
“This cruel condition moves relentlessly, ravaging their bodies and their lives, yet the system stands still, putting up obstacle after obstacle, forcing them to wait and wait as time slips by. This drug was approved by the EU Commission back in 2024. Two years on, it is available in France, Germany, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Czechia.”
“So we are clear, it is not that all of this is frustrating for those living with Friedreich's ataxia; it is actually terrifying for them. I met Emily three or four weeks ago and I was speaking to her again on Tuesday. Even in that short time span, she told me that her swallow and speech had disimproved. We are on the clock here.”
“There is someone the Tánaiste knows very well in the Public Gallery. She is the unstoppable and heroic Cara Darmody. Cara has just completed her third 50-hour protest outside the Dáil, calling for real action for children and young people waiting for an assessment of need.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,050 lines we hold for Mary Lou McDonald, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 2 of 21.
“Is í aontacht na hÉireann an deis is mó atá ag ár nglúin. Is í an fhís mhór í do thodhchaí ár dtíre. Is ré nua í d’oibrithe agus teaghlaigh ar fud na hÉireann. Ní mór dúinn an deis a thapú go huile is go hiomlán. Ní mór dúinn pleanáil agus ullmhú do reifreann aontachta. Is é anois an t-am. Taispeánaimis misneach, fís agus diongbháilteacht chun deireadh a chur leis an deighilt agus Poblacht nua a thógáil do chách. Partition failed the people of Ireland. We all have our responsibility now to plan and prepare for unity and to lay the foundations of the nation we wish to pass on to our children and they to theirs, so let us not miss this moment. Let us work to ensure the Government of Ireland and this Oireachtas become the lead driver of reunification in our time.”
“That is our common cause. For us in Ireland, that means working towards and securing a date for referendums on Irish unity. The Government really should not stand against this tide of change; it should embrace it. In fact, it should lead it. Good government, after all, is about recognising threats and weaknesses but more importantly identifying opportunities and grasping them. We need to recognise that a united Ireland is the greatest opportunity of our generation. It is the big idea for our future. The question is not if there will be unity referendums but when those referendums will be held. The far bigger question is whether we will be prepared for an informed, inclusive process of transition. I want a process that is peaceful and orderly and this demands that preparations start now and that is what our legislation is about.”
“The question is often asked, "Can we afford unity?" My answer to that is simple. We can no longer afford partition. We can no longer afford the dislocation of North from South. We cannot miss the opportunity that unity presents in terms of economic scale, development and progress, but also when it comes to the organisation of our public services. The scale of change we are witnessing demands that we prepare for constitutional change and reunification. Britain's union is now under unprecedented pressure. We now have pro-independence First Ministers in the North of Ireland, Scotland and Wales, all of whom see a future beyond Westminster and the post-Brexit chaos that has dominated British politics, or more accurately English politics, for a decade now; all who want a future where the people of our nations choose our destinies.”
“It will allow a debate on competing ideas and different perspectives on unity, encourage debate on the shape of the future constitutional arrangements and facilitate discussion on the financial, social, economic and political challenges and solutions. It will be a forum for real discussion on what our new united Ireland will look like. The Taoiseach's position, often stated, is that reconciliation must happen before reunification. I respectfully suggest that perspective downplays three decades of genuine reconciliation initiatives and real progress on the ground and in communities. That perspective fails to recognise that discussing and planning our future together is the very essence of reconciliation. Reunification itself is a reconciliation process. You cannot separate one from the other, no more than tell the dancer from the dance.”
“That is what reunification offers, but we must start the planning and preparation now. That is what this Bill seeks to stimulate and advance. Any government truly focused on a better future would positively - indeed, enthusiastically - draft and publish a Green Paper on a united Ireland, a positive vision covering all topics including public finance, taxation, public services, human rights, governance arrangements and, of course, relations between Britain and Ireland. The establishment of the citizens' assembly will be groundbreaking. It will bring together representatives from the people of Ireland from all communities because all citizens have a stake in our shared future.”
“Reunification provides us with the opportunity to use the engine of the all-island economy to create jobs, drive investment and secure a successful and dynamic economic future with world-class infrastructure. Irish unity very importantly also represents a new deal for our young people. Too many generations have lived their lives in a partitioned Ireland. It has held back young people. It has curtailed potential and ambition. It has denied them their right to live in a unified nation with access to all the possibilities that this can offer. We say, "Enough of that." We owe it to our young people to recognise unity as the historic opportunity of this time and to seize it with both hands. Now is the time to build a hopeful future for all the young people of Ireland regardless of background, tradition, religion or identity.”
“This new deal of reunification is about building a better life for workers and families right across Ireland. It is about harnessing the resources of the entire nation to build a better future but also to meet the big challenges of today, and to ensure that every citizen and family have a place to call home. It is the best way - the only way - to deliver an all-Ireland public universal health service. Through unity, we can build the best education and childcare systems for every child and young person. We can strengthen our public services, tackle poverty and build a fair society in which disabled people and those who care are supported to live full lives as equal citizens.”
“Michelle O'Neill leads the Executive with the determination to make politics work for everyone. Above all else, we believe that we must build Ireland's future together. Reunification is, of course, about removing the Border, but not only that, it is about so much more. It is about seizing the moment and opportunity to create a new deal for the people of Ireland and every person on this island; a new deal for Protestants and unionists which protects their British identity and replaces the bad treatment and abandonment by Westminster with real ownership, inclusion and respect as a full citizen to have a real stake in the future where that British identity is secure; a new deal to break with the failures of the past and build a new republic that works for everyone where prosperity and a secure life is open to every citizen.”
“However, at the very core of the agreement is the provision of the right of all the people, North and South, to determine Ireland's future at the ballot box by way of referendums. We now need to do the work necessary to plan and prepare for the people to vote on a united Ireland. We are nearly 30 years on from the Good Friday Agreement. There has been nothing rushed, hasty or pre-emptive about this process. Over the past three decades, we have had big challenges. We have had disagreements and political confrontations. We have had highs and lows. Of that, there is no doubt. However, the peace is secure. It is robust, resilient and commands wide support. It is now time to write the next chapter, the chapter of reunification. We in Sinn Féin believe in partnership and collaboration.”
“The story of our nation is the story of challenge, adversity and struggle, but more importantly, it is a story of perseverance, hope and overcoming incredible odds. It is a story of enduring belief that a better future for Ireland is possible. That spirit is best reflected in the achievement of the historic Good Friday Agreement in 1998. Twenty-eight years ago, leaders from all communities came together and made peace. The agreement brought conflict in Ireland to an end, and to this day it stands as a historic international success story in peace building. It created space to acknowledge the hurt, pain and loss on all sides, to build a bridge of understanding, a pathway for healing and a process for real reconciliation. The Good Friday Agreement was about institutional arrangements and human rights standards.”
“I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time". Tonight, the Dáil can take a major step towards Irish unity in our time. Tonight, we can begin the final length of our national journey from peace to reunification. The Bill that Sinn Féin brings before the Dáil this evening is historic. If passed, it would be the first ever legislation directing the Government to start planning and preparing for a united Ireland. The Bill compels the Taoiseach to produce and publish a Government Green Paper and set out its vision for reunification. It also establishes a first ever citizens' assembly - all-island - on Irish unity to consider those proposals. It would put the work of uniting Ireland at the very heart of the Government and the Oireachtas.”
“When will Government act on the issue? The Garda needs enforcement powers and penalties to tackle dangerous, illegal e-scooter use and it needs those powers now.”
“On behalf of the barr's of Cabra, I extend a welcome to the barr's of Contae Chorcaí. We all argue the bit over which club outstrips the other. In recent days the country has been really shocked by reports of children fighting for their lives because of e-scooter crashes. I have heard doctors warn of an epidemic of traumatic brain injury, gardaí raising concerns about risk posed by reckless and unlawful use and, across the place, pedestrians are literally being forced off footpaths. Many older people are afraid to walk through town centres. Parents worry every time a child leaves the house because these e-scooters are being driven at speed through public spaces with absolutely no regard for anybody's safety, much less the law. This is now a scourge, yet the Government's response has been slow, fragmented and wholly inadequate.”
“If supply is the thing, and it is the thing, the Government is failing abjectly on that measure. On the measure of affordability, €400,000 is simply not affordable for ordinary working people, especially younger ones. House prices of half a million here in Dublin are absolutely out of the question. Does the Minister accept that today, as per this report, house prices and asking prices are continuing to rise? People are priced out of getting their first home. Does the Minister accept that we need to change tack to ensure that people can get a home and people who work and save hard can afford to own their own home? Does the Minister accept that there needs to be a change of direction or will he continue with the rinse-and-repeat policy of failure?”
“I am sure I am not the only person struck by the profound irony of the Minister telling me that supply is the thing when, in fact, his Government only managed to deliver 935 affordable homes last year.”
“Léiríonn an tuairisc is déanaí ó myhome.ie go bhfuil praghsanna na dtithe ag méadú de shíor. Tá teipthe glan ar pholasaithe tithíochta an Rialtais. Tá géarghá le hathrú mór treo chun na tithe atá de dhíth ag ár bpobal a chur ar fáil ar phraghsanna réasúnta. Does the Minister accept that house prices are continuing to rise? Does he accept that prices of €400,000 are not affordable for ordinary people? Does he accept that the Government delivering only 935 affordable homes last year is absolutely pitiful? Does he now recognise that we need a major change of direction to end this crisis and deliver those homes that our people need?”
“We need to make it easier for people to get their first home. We need to deliver the largest council housing building programme in the history of the State. We need to tackle the rip-off rents that make it so hard, impossible even, for young people to save for a deposit. I believe that we can restore hope, that we can get back to a place where ordinary people who work hard and save hard can have and buy a home of their own. That is the promise we have to make real for our young people - that they will have their opportunity to build the life they deserve here at home in Ireland. That means we need vision, energy and a break from serving the interests of corporate landlords, speculators and property funds, to focus on workers, families and our young people.”
“Kilkenny, Roscommon and Mayo have seen €25,000 added to house prices. At the heart of this crisis is broken Government policy - policy built on empty promises rather than delivery. For example, the Government promised to deliver 2,100 affordable homes to buy last year, but how many did it actually deliver? The answer is 935. By the way, most of these homes were not affordable to the vast majority of working people. Homes that the Government describes as affordable often have price tags of €400,000 or more. That is not affordable, not for a nurse, a retail worker, a van driver or a childcare worker, and not for the vast majority of young people trying to raise a family. This cannot go on. We need to do so much better. We need so much more ambition. We need to make homes affordable.”
“The Government keeps telling people that affordable home ownership is just around the corner, but that is not true. The latest report, published this morning, confirms this. That report from myhome.ie and Bank of Ireland makes for very grim reading for everybody, but especially for young people trying to get their first home. The report shows that house prices are continuing to rise and selling prices are well above even those, at 7.5% above asking. This is pricing more people, especially young people, out of buying their own home. The median asking price for a home State-wide is now €400,000, and here in Dublin, it is close to €500,000. These are startling headline figures, but they do not tell the full story of the runaway house prices. Some counties have experienced double-digit increases in the last year.”
“Almost 1,900 women were turned away from domestic violence services in the last six months of last year because there was simply nowhere safe for them to go. Almost 1,900 women found the courage to escape abuse only to be told that there was no safe refuge, no home, and no place of safety for them or for their children. SAFE Ireland now says that the housing crisis is the single biggest barrier preventing women and children from escaping abuse. That is an extraordinary indictment of the Taoiseach's Government. What positive action will the Taoiseach now take to guarantee women fleeing domestic violence immediate access to refuge and safe accommodation? How will the Taoiseach ensure that no woman seeking safely is ever again turned away because the State has failed to provide for her and her children?”
“I am putting the question to the Taoiseach today that more than 1 million households will be asking themselves tomorrow when they face yet another hike in their electricity and gas prices and bills. They will ask what the Government is doing to put a stop to the gallop of the energy companies. What is the Government doing to step in and assist these households as they struggle, as the Taoiseach has acknowledged?”
“It is not enough simply to agree that households are under incredible pressure. Far from intervening to assist people with their energy bills, the Government took away the very thing that was a support to households when it removed energy credits. Rather than intervening to assist, it intervened and made things worse. It has failed to rein in the energy companies that are turning huge profits. People work very hard and will pay their way, and everybody realises that this has to happen, but they are simply fed up with being constantly ripped off. They ask themselves why everything here is so much more expensive and why this is the case. Why is it that Irish households and families consistently have to pay more for their energy?”
“Ón lá amárach, beidh billí leictreachais agus gáis ag méadú go géar do níos mó ná 1 milliún teaghlach. Cuirfidh sé níos mó brú ar theaghlaigh atá ag streachailt go dona cheana féin. Cad atá an Rialtas chun a dhéanamh faoi seo? This comes down to choices. The Government should choose to step up, have the backs of households faced with these energy price hikes and take action to rein in the energy companies. It should provide people with the support they need here and now. That means intervening directly and providing the energy credits that households need. Will the Government make these choices?”
“It has had more than a month to act and to step in to protect people, but, true to form, it has done nothing at all. Energy has to be affordable for people. We need to get costs under control and end the rip-off. We have to support people while costs are so high. The Taoiseach should rein in the energy companies, which are making massive profits. He should see to it that energy credits are reinstated, because his job is to take action to ease the pressure on people and families. Why is the Government allowing this scandalous profiteering to go unchecked. Why is it content to sit back and allow more than 1 million households to take the hit? The uncertainty, stress and pressure people are being asked to live with is not right and is not fair. People deserve better.”
“On average, we pay more than €500 more per year than our European neighbours. As the Taoiseach knows, we already have record numbers of people who are unable to pay their energy bills, with more than 500,000 household accounts in arrears. That is the context and the backdrop. That is what families are facing as these new hikes come at them tomorrow. The hikes will hit hard-working families. These are people who work every hour they can and who do everything they can to build a good life for themselves and their families. No matter what they do, however, there seems to be a constant uphill battle and a constant rip-off. These are the families that are squeezed and squeezed. Here is the worst of it. The Government has known these hikes were coming for weeks, because the increases were announced at the end of May.”
“Tomorrow is an important day that will provide a serious test for the Government. More than 1 million households will be hit with hikes in gas and electricity prices. Customers of Electric Ireland, the country's largest electricity supplier, and Yuno Energy face increased bills. These sharp increases range from 8% to 11% and will heap more pressure on people. The hikes will kick in as households deal with rising rents, increasing food prices and expensive back-to-school costs. That is before we mention the sky-high cost of car insurance and childcare. The bills keep coming. They keep going up and up, and people are fed up with being ripped off. I want to remind the Taoiseach of something, which is that Irish households already pay the highest electricity prices in the European Union.”
“It is not I, but the former Garda Commissioner, who offered strongly the view and advice that there would be no compromising of the criminal investigation in the holding of a public inquiry. Be that as it may, we are now nearly four years on and the families have to have clarity on the direction of travel from the Government. The Taoiseach seemed to indicate an acceptance of the idea of an inquiry and that the question might be what the outstanding issues are and how they might emerge. Will he meet the families and hear from them directly? Undoubtedly, there is a need for accountability, including criminal accountability in open court. I do not dispute that for a second. The Garda and other statutory authorities must do their jobs, but the families have additional requests and questions.”
“How did it happen? Could it have been prevented? After four years, they need clarity. They need to know what the Government is going to do. Please, will he tell them today that the Government will establish a public inquiry?”
“Following that meeting, Darragh Mackin, the legal representative of some of the families, stated, "The minister has now confirmed unequivocally to these families that he will consider holding an inquest with a senior judge or the senior coroner, something similar to Stardust". Yet nearly three months later, there has been no progress and the families are left feeling like they are in limbo. That is why they bring their campaign for truth and justice to Leinster House today. Tá freagraí tuillte ag na teaghlaigh a maraíodh agus a ngortaíodh a ndaoine muinteartha i bpléascadh an Chraoslaigh. Tá siad ag éileamh fiosrúchán poiblí chun an fhírinne iomlán a aimsiú. Caithfidh an Rialtas freagairt dá n-éileamh gan a thuilleadh moille. These families have endured years without answers about the deaths of their loved ones. What exactly happened?”
“The families' reasons for wanting a public inquiry are very well-founded. They are concerned that the criminal investigation may not examine regulatory oversight and safety standards, that without a public inquiry, the full circumstances of the disaster may never be established, and that criminal proceedings may take years, thereby delaying answers. It is wrong that the families had to campaign publicly simply to secure a meeting with the Minister for justice. The Minister, the House will recall, initially spurned the families' request for engagement. That caused real upset, anger and frustration. Finally, after sustained pressure, the Minister changed his mind and met the families on 9 April.”
“It was a tragedy that spanned generations and is etched into the collective memory of the people of Donegal. Families were left heartbroken, shattered and bereft. Both the Taoiseach and I visited Creeslough in the immediate aftermath of the explosion and I certainly will never forget the devastation. No doubt, neither will the Taoiseach. For nearly four years, these families have fought for answers, for the full truth of what happened to their loved ones and how it happened. Families are calling for the establishment of a public inquiry. The Government's response is that a public inquiry cannot be granted while the criminal investigation is ongoing, but the former Garda Commissioner was clear. He stated that it was possible to hold a public inquiry without compromising that investigation.”
“Today, the families of those killed or injured at Creeslough will bring their fight for answers to the Dáil. They will be here to speak to Members later this afternoon and we will make them most welcome. Every one of us remembers that fateful Friday afternoon in October 2022. We remember the reports of an explosion at an Applegreen service station and apartments in the small Donegal village and how that shock later turned to disbelief as we learned that the explosion had claimed the lives of ten people. It took the life of five-year-old Shauna Flanagan Garwe, the youngest victim, and that of her doting father, Robert; 13-year-old James Monaghan and his mother, Catherine O'Donnell; 14-year-old Leona Harper; Jessica Gallagher; James O'Flaherty; Martin McGill; Martina Martin; and Hugh Kelly, aged 59, who was the oldest to die.”
“Trust, compassion and care; those were the values the Irish people chose to back. By voting to remove the three-day wait we can take a significant step to honouring that promise because for too long women have been let down. This is our opportunity now to ensure compassion and trust prevail.”
“I am conscious the review of the legislation asks that the Dáil and the Oireachtas consider other matters, including fatal foetal anomaly, and I urge the Government to establish the expert panel necessary to give us the advice, as an Oireachtas, in respect of those matters. I acknowledge the Government has indicated support for this legislation. I very much welcome that, and the support from Members right across the benches in this House. It is so important we work together to make this really essential change and that we all do the right thing by women. When the people voted to repeal the eighth amendment in 2018, it was a watershed moment, and the message was loud and clear; the days of women being denied the right to make decisions about our own healthcare were over.”
“It is wrong that women are forced into this arbitrary delay when they have already made a decision and presented themselves to their doctor. The three-day wait is not healthcare. It does not make services safer or better. It only serves as a barrier to women accessing the service they need. I believe there is widespread support across our society to end this three-day wait, for us to live up to the declaration that women are trusted and that we are respected to make decisions in our own time with compassion, space, understanding and care. Today, we can change the law. Irish women have been failed in so many ways for such a long time. We now have an opportunity to put one of those wrongs to right.”
“Women who have been sexually assaulted, who are the victims of domestic violence or are in abusive coercive relationships are left in the most awful of circumstances. The wait is also a very serious problem for women who have difficulty accessing a GP and services in their own county. Many are forced to travel for hours for the initial appointment, only to be sent away and told to return again after three days. I cannot tell the Minister of State the level of distress, suffering and emotional anguish for women across the country that this has caused. None of this is care. None of this is fair. None of this is compassionate. The three-day wait simply denies women the right to come to their decisions about their healthcare on their own terms and in their own time.”
“After all, that was the guiding principle when the people voted to repeal the eighth amendment eight years ago. We said then that we would trust women, and that is what we must do, not just with words or promises but with delivery. In truth, the three-day waiting period should never have been introduced. In fact, the original review of the legislation states very clearly that the three-day wait has to go. This is a considered recommendation based on real experience and the real impact of the enforced wait on the lives of women. This wait has caused huge harm and trauma. The three-day mandatory wait has seen women pushed beyond the 12-week period, meaning that they cannot access services here in Ireland. Eight years after repeal, some women are still forced to travel abroad.”
“I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time." This is an important piece of legislation before the Dáil. It is a Bill to remove the mandatory three-day wait for women who need an abortion. It goes without saying that every woman must have the space, the understanding and the support she needs to come to her decision in her time. Any woman making this decision will have given it very deep thought. We should never underestimate, dismiss or discount that reality. To force a woman to wait for three days is just wrong. Tomorrow night, every TD will have an opportunity to right that wrong, to vote to change the law to remove this barrier to healthcare for women and to uphold the promise of repeal and take a significant step toward compassion.”
“Is é an smaoineamh is fearr é do thodhchaí na hÉireann. The Bill that we move today is about putting planning for a united Ireland at the top of our agenda. That is what the future demands of us and of the Government. The need to prepare for Irish unity is urgent. The position of “Yes, but not now”, can no longer hold. We can achieve a united Ireland in our time. The Bill obliges the Government to pursue that future with vigour, ambition and determination to complete our journey from peace to unity and nationhood.”
“It is now two years since the joint committee on the Good Friday Agreement published its major report on constitutional change. This was a positive, exciting, cross-party vision for a united Ireland. It called for a whole-of-government approach to immediately start planning for Irish unity. It recommended that the Government publish a detailed Green Paper and establish citizens' assemblies, and our legislation provides for those very things. Two years is far too long to wait for progress on what is the most important national conversation of our time. It is time to move forward with pace. Treoraíonn Bille Shinn Féin an Rialtas chun pleanáil agus ullmhú le haghaidh Éireann aontaithe trí Pháipéar Uaine a fhoilsiú agus tionól saoránach ar aontacht a bhunú. Is deis ollmhór é an t-athaontú.”
“It would be a forum for real discussion on what a new united Ireland would look like. As we approach the 30th anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, it is important to acknowledge the scale of transformation in Ireland. More and more people now see that partition has failed communities and Ireland. There are encouraging signs of growing support for Irish unity in successive electoral results, demographic change, contributions from civic society, opinion polling and public commentary. I very much welcome the Fine Gael initiative on Irish unity announced by the Tánaiste at the weekend. However, what we need is a Government initiative on unity. We need work and action. We need ambition and urgency. We need to plan and prepare for unity referendums.”
“The Bill obliges the Government to draft and publish a Green Paper on Irish reunification within 12 months. The Green Paper must cover a range of topics, including public finance, taxation, public services, human rights, governance arrangements and relations between Britain and Ireland. Drafting this Green Paper requires consultation with the broad spectrum of society, civil groups, experts, all political traditions and, of course, unionist and Protestant representatives. Second, the Bill obliges the Government to establish a citizens’ assembly on Irish unity within six months of the publication of the Green Paper. Convened and funded by the Department of An Taoiseach, this will bring together representatives of the people of Ireland from all communities and citizens who have a stake in the future.”
“It presents an immense historic opportunity for our country and our people to realise our potential economically, socially and politically. Unity is the vehicle by which we can achieve full nationhood and build a new 32-county Republic, a Republic where resources are used not to enrich the privileged few but to make life better for working people, for families, for children and for our young people. The unity conversation is under way but conversation alone is not enough. To seize the opportunity of reunification, the Government must step forward and lead. This requires work, planning and preparation. That is what this Bill directs the Government to do, that is, to proactively plan and prepare for the reunification of Ireland and to put this work at the heart of the Oireachtas.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to provide for planning and preparation for the possibility of constitutional change on the island of Ireland, in accordance with the right of self-determination of the people of the island of Ireland as recognised by the British-Irish Agreement Act 1999 and as provided for in the Multi-Party Agreement reached at Belfast on the 10th day of April 1998; to require the Taoiseach to prepare and publish a Green Paper; to provide for the convening of a Citizens’ Assembly from within such resources as are available under the Vote for the Department of the Taoiseach; to require periodic reporting to the Houses of the Oireachtas on progress; and to provide for related matters. Ending partition and Irish reunification is the very best idea for the future of Ireland.”
“Sinn Féin is this evening bringing forward important legislation to end the mandatory three-day wait for women who need an abortion. This wait is causing real damage to women. It has pushed some beyond the 12-week period, meaning they cannot access services here in Ireland and have to travel. Women who have suffered sexual assault or who live with domestic violence or coercive control are left in a really awful situation and it has meant hardship for many women who struggle to get a GP appointment in their county. Changing the law and removing the three-day wait would ensure that women could access healthcare when they needed it. I believe we can do this together and I hope every TD will look to trust, to care and to compassion when they cast their vote on this matter tomorrow night.”
“-----until 2027 and the collection of it until 2028; and the Government saying it will only apply to places with populations of more than 4,000 people. None of that makes sense at a time when we need immediate, comprehensive action. By the way, the level of tax-----”
“According to the census, there are up to 180,000 vacant and derelict properties across the State. That cannot stand at any time but particularly in the grip of such a serious housing crisis. The failure to collect that more than €30 million in the derelict site levy speaks to an ambivalence or, certainly, a slowness on the part of the Government. Let me just repeat the problems here that need to be solved: delaying the introduction of this tax, which is a tax we recognise is absolutely necessary,-----”
“Caithfidh an Rialtas gníomhú go práinneach agus go héifeachtúil chun dul i ngleic leis seo i gceart agus chun tithe agus foirgnimh a thabhairt ar ais in úsáid. It is time to get serious on the issue of dereliction. We need a derelict property tax with real teeth. We need to penalise property hoarding and incentivise homes and buildings being reoccupied. Property hoarders who are not playing ball must be hit hard. The tax should be introduced now and ratcheted up - doubled, we believe - every year. Of course, we have to ensure that every last cent owed by property hoarders is collected. Anyone who hoards property must pay the price and does not simply get to walk away. That is what urgency looks like. That is what ambition looks like. That and that alone is what will bring thousands of homes back into use.”
“It has to put it up to those responsible for dereliction with legislation and serious financial penalties that will get homes and buildings back into use. Sitting back and pushing the derelict property tax out for another two years is not the mark of a Government intent on getting the job done. It is incredible that there is nothing in Simon Harris's proposal to ensure the collection of the more than €30 million already owed in derelict site levies. We told the Government that this money was not being collected and that local authorities did not have the capacity to collect it. We gave the Government the solutions, but instead, it gifted a multimillion euro amnesty to land hoarders. Ní leor leathiarracht maidir le foirgnimh tréigthe.”
“There were plenty of soundbites, press releases and big promises. Today, finally, he brings his tax proposal to the Cabinet. The questions people will be asking are whether this is the big step forward that is so badly required and if it will bring the necessary pace to tackle dereliction head on. The answer to both of those questions is "No", because the tax will not come into effect until 2027 and collection of the tax may not start until 2028. Today, we learn the tax will not apply to the entire State, but only to places with populations of 4,000 people or more. This phased approach means that thousands of derelict properties will not be captured by the tax in its initial phase. If the Government is serious about dealing with the blight of dereliction, urgency is required.”