Maurice Quinlivan
Limerick City · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“The Kilteragh estate in Dooradoyle, where hundreds of homes are also located, has no bus service. The nearest bus stop is located outside the Crescent Shopping Centre, which is 2 km away. Another area that is lacking a bus service is that which lies between St.”
“In recent years, there have been some improvements on the bus transport in Limerick city, with routes such as the 310 from Annacotty to the city centre being rolled out. These new routes and improvements have to be welcomed, but significant gaps remain in the provision of bus services across Limerick city.”
“We have already seen a four-year delay in the delivery of BusConnects, which has impacted the economic development and liveability of Limerick. When raising the issue of University Hospital Limerick on many occasions, I have spoken about the growing population of Limerick and the wider mid-west region.”
“We have faced major challenges in making the Limerick city centre a liveable and enjoyable place. Efforts have been made to improve the city and make it a more attractive place to visit and enjoy. We have had some great success with the promotion of King John's Castle as a music venue, Thomond Park and the annual Great Limerick Run.”
“As stated, good progress has been made regarding transport in the mid-west, but we still lag way behind other areas across the State. Last year, I published a report on bus infrastructure in areas on the north side of Limerick City.”
“What they have done with the route, with buses coming onto O’Callaghan Avenue from Kileely and then onto the High Road and Thomond at Johnseys shop, is very dangerous. The road has been narrowed so much that buses have to mount the footpaths on both sides. Somebody is going to get seriously injured unless something is done.”
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“It cannot just be based on population because that is simply not going to work. Communities are abandoned and it is not good enough.”
“We never got the gardaí we were promised and communities have been left abandoned. As I have said, crack cocaine did not just appear in Limerick; organised gangs brought it to Limerick. I have raised this in the Dáil for the last three or four years. They targeting the most vulnerable people in the State. I agree with the Minister of State that we need a co-ordinated response to this and that is what Operation Copóg was. We need a version of that again. We need to put the resources in. When the Minister sees the new recruits coming out of Templemore, Limerick has to be to looked at. We cannot go by the size of the population. We have to look at the problems we have in north inner city Dublin and parts of Cork city but Limerick city in particular needs to make sure we get a fair share of those gardaí.”
“I was really disappointed with the Minister of State's response. There was nothing new that we did not know about before we came in here tonight. It pains me when I talk about these issues in the city of Limerick that I love but it pains me more to see ordinary working families being abandoned by the State. In 2008, Limerick had 92 community gardaí; we now have 30. In 2008, John Fitzgerald commissioned a report which dealt with the policing regeneration programme. He said we needed 100 extra gardaí and a new superintendent. We got 100 gardaí and 99 retired so we got one. We got one garda - that is what we got. About a week ago there was a petrol bomb attack in an area of the city. It took two hours for a Garda response to come to that, even though it was on social media for an hour before the gardaí came out to it.”
“These communities see little or no Garda response across Limerick. Many communities have long been left without a community Garda. We must enhance community safety by implementing a comprehensive method to address crime and support local policing efforts. The gardaí in Limerick are well led and when they have sufficient Garda numbers and adequate resources, they can keep all of our communities safe. That is a task of Government and it needs to deliver the resources our gardaí need.”
“Crack cocaine, one of the most destructive and addictive drugs, is peddled to the most desperate of our citizens. There are reports of children selling crack cocaine and I am on the public record as saying that previously. There are several criminal gangs in our city that cause mayhem and destroy lives. They often act like they own the areas. They think they do. Previous Garda operations in Limerick such as Operation Copóg and others, when resourced, have been successful but when the resources are removed, the criminality returns even worse. We cannot allow crime to spread and we cannot allow these gangs to drag more young people into this. Often, the communities I have talked about have been plagued by criminal gangs who seem to operate without sanction. They feel they are untouchable.”
“Too many Limerick communities feel abandoned. In recent weeks we have had shootings and petrol bomb attacks in the Ballinacurra Weston, Southill, Garryowen, Thomondgate and King's Island areas of our great city. Recently, I wrote to both the Garda Commissioner and the Minister for justice seeking additional resources for the Garda in Limerick. These resources are needed to combat the ongoing sale of drugs, especially crack cocaine, and gang feuding across Limerick. Hardworking families, pensioners and children living in these communities deserve to live securely in their homes without the presence of drug gangs operating openly and arrogantly. The sale of crack cocaine is pure evil. It has a devastating impact not only on the drug users but on their families and the wider community.”
“No disrespect to the Minister of State but I am really disappointed that nobody from the Department of justice is present. This is a really important issue as my colleague has outlined. I will preface my comments by saying the Government really needs to intervene here. It needs to commit to a fully resourced Garda operation targeting drug dealing and feuding in order that hardworking people in Limerick feel safe and secure in their homes, which some of them do not feel at the moment. Many people are extremely frightened and need to be reassured and made safe in their homes and communities. The scale of drug dealing in parts of Limerick city is worse than ever. It is off the scale. It is a miracle nobody has been killed in the gang feud that is going on across our city. Gardaí have said that, not me.”
“While one senior garda told me it was a godsend, he remains concerned that CAST and the pilot project has not received its own funding but instead works out of existing budgets. In conjunction with the Minister for justice, will the Minister of State support this project and following the evaluation that will be carried out by UL, which all indications are will be positive, look at expanding CAST across the State?”
“While this offers some reassurance, and has yielded significant results - 142 recorded call backs completed - it is not, in our opinion, a substitute for legislative authority. While CAST is in its infancy, it speaks to the commitments in the programme for Government and represents interagency collaboration in its purest form. This was the opening statement from Chief Superintendent Derek Smart today. After his welcome contribution, of which I have only quoted a portion, I hope that as we advance this Bill, consideration will be given to additional funding to ensure the CAST project becomes permanent. Having spoken to senior staff in the HSE and Limerick gardaí, I can say that the project has already saved lives.”
“Our CAST forum clients are subject to levels of inter-agency work not witnessed in this jurisdiction previously. [...] [Another] significant finding under CAST has been a concerning gap in service for individuals who, following a detention under the Mental Health Act, receive a letter or advice to attend an approved centre such as a psychiatric hospital or emergency department. He continued: The person is not obliged to attend. And in practice, we have seen many individuals in acute psychological crisis simply walk away once released by gardaí, without ever engaging with services. To help bridge this gap, CAST has implemented a structured callback protocol, providing follow-up contact with individuals after their release, checking on well-being, assessing ongoing risk, and we attempt to re-engage them with services.”
“it is important to note that since its introduction, CAST has created greater integration among statutory and voluntary agencies operating in the Limerick Garda division. It is grounded in international evidence and research showing co-response has delivered improved outcomes for adults requiring intervention at times of mental health crisis or situational trauma. [...] The early outcomes and available data are encouraging and have seen over 40 diversions from arrest and subsequent detentions under section 12 of the Mental Health Act 2001. A further consequence of this would have seen an admission to an emergency department and medical call-outs. CAST has recorded over 1,700 operational hours of service in its first four months of operation and has seen more than 150 individuals interact with the project.”
“My colleague mentioned the pilot project, namely the community access support team, CAST, initiative that was launched in Limerick last October and commenced in January. The Minister of State was there at the launch. Like most things pertaining to mental health, the launch of the programme came two and a half years after we were advised it would commence. However, we got there in the end and in its short time in operation, the project has been successful. It involves a combined Garda and HSE support group that assists those facing a mental health challenge, particularly during out-of-hours periods. The statement provided to the health committee today by Chief Superintendent Derek Smart from Limerick reads: ...”
“Crucially, local authorities must be given leeway to proceed with refurbishments without the need for housing Department approval on every single house. This should occur all year round and there should be no blockages on that. We need a dedicated annual maintenance fund to allow local authorities to recoup the cost of upgrading existing stock, including vacant homes. We should also allow councils to plan for when people are moving out of a house so someone can move in pretty soon afterwards instead of three, four or five years later.”
“There are two houses on the street she grew up on that have been boarded up for three years. I ask the Minister of State not to tell us his policy is working. He is aware of the houses I mentioned. Local authorities such as Limerick City Council should be funded to do their job. Instead their efforts are met with red tape and a lot of underfunding, leaving these homes vacant, often for years. Funding of €11,000 per home is far short of what is needed to ensure these homes are safe and welcoming for new tenants and that is the problem. The more than 2,656 vacant council houses across the State must be ready for occupation. The motion calls for an average turnaround time of 12 weeks to be met by every local authority.”
“The Minister of State and I both come from the Limerick City constituency. Before I came to the Chamber, I listened in my office to what he said. I was surprised. As he knows, we officially have 220 boarded-up council houses, of which 62, or 28%, have been boarded up for more than a year. He knows that because he has seen it. Across the city, Ballynanty, Kileely, Thomondgate, Moyross and Southill all have boarded-up houses. Those 220 homes should have families living in them. They are lying empty while children grow up in hotel rooms without access to play areas or, in many cases, a desk at which to do their homework. I raised in this House previously the situation of a woman who is in emergency accommodation with her family. She can see the estate she comes from, and would love to live in again, through the window of the hotel.”
“It is because house prices are out of reach of the average worker, private rent is too expensive and the list for council-provided homes has people waiting years to be housed. Against this crisis the Government did act and brought in the useful tenant in situ scheme, but it has now cut it and it is not working for families. It is a housing emergency and it needs to be treated as such. As my colleagues have done, I encourage everybody in the Munster area to come to Cork on 21 June and stand up and demand housing.”
“I have absolutely no doubt that a future Taoiseach will stand up in this Dáil and apologise on behalf of the State for the way we have treated children in emergency accommodation and, for many of them, destroyed their potential for growth. These are real people impacted and children damaged by our housing failures. There have been far too few housing completions to make any impact on the number of Limerick people in need of housing, and the cost of rental properties also plays a role in this regard. In some cases, three generations of families are living under the same roof in already small homes. There are families working off rotas as to when an adult child can avail of a bed or must content themselves with a couch. This is the 21st century and we have families living cheek by jowl in these conditions. Why?”
“Every month there are more people availing of State-provided emergency accommodation. The latest figures show that 15,500 people - of whom 4,775 are children - are in such accommodation. That figure does not include those who are on the streets or those who are moving night to night from couch to couch because they do not have a place to call their own. Service providers in Limerick have repeatedly told me over the years that they have to turn people away from their doors every day as they do not have capacity. The failure to tackle runaway rents, allowing no-fault evictions, the failure to curb the cost of house purchases and the inability to provide secure accommodation to those on our housing lists impact families and particularly children.”
“We are in a housing emergency. This is an ongoing crisis that this and previous Governments have failed to come to grips with. They have not even acknowledged the scale of the crisis they have delivered to us. Later this evening we will debate a motion on the huge number of vacant council homes that lie derelict, but this crisis extends far beyond that. Renters face extremely high rents of €2,405 per month, on average, in my home city of Limerick. Those in the market to purchase a house in Limerick can expect to pay €320,000 on average for a semi-detached three-bedroom home. This is an increase of 10% since December 2023. Those who are in the unfortunate situation of having become homeless find it increasingly difficult to extract themselves from that nightmare.”
“I am asking specifically that we give additional funding to the King's Island area to ensure that the hard-working people in those areas are protected and safe in their homes. We also need to deal with the feud in Ballinacurra-Weston. We need additional resources in both those areas. I commend the community workers and those working in the services in those areas, who are doing their best in a difficult situation.”
“I raise the issue of criminal gangs in Limerick, which I have previously raised on a number of occasions. There is an ongoing feud in the Ballinacurra-Weston area on the southside of the city. We also have an ongoing issue in the King's Island area. In fairness to the Government, it has in the past put resources into the King's Island area under Operation Cobalt, Operation Croí and other operations. Unfortunately, those operations have finished. I understand the resources from King's Island have been transferred to Ballinacurra-Weston. They are needed there, but are also needed in the King's Island area. In the past week or so, I have written to the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, and the Minister for Justice, Deputy Jim O'Callaghan. I also spoke to local gardaí in Limerick, including the chief superintendent. They are deeply concerned.”
“The system is in place for the correct reasons: to avoid the class-based system and selection systems that can arise within the city and has done for generations but which unfortunately does not work for all students. In recent years multitudes of children have received 11 rejection letters from schools. In 2023 there were 20 students in this situation. Can you imagine how deflating it is and how much it would dent a child's confidence to receive 11 rejection letters from the only 11 schools that are available? It is a challenge for parents how to explain to their child why he or she does not have a place yet all their friends do. I encourage the Minister to review the system and adjust it as necessary so that other Limerick children and their families do not have this stress.”
“With these shortages we had 13,500 unqualified teachers teaching in schools to backfill our teacher shortage. Why do we have such a shortage of educators? The salaries, especially for new teachers, have led many to emigrate as they cannot see how they can build a life in this State with the ongoing and unmanaged housing crisis coupled with the cost-of-living crisis. There are steps the Minister could take to manage the shortfall in educators. One of most exciting and daunting times in a child's life and educational journey is the transition for primary to secondary school. In Limerick, we have a unique common application system. The system requires sixth class students to list their schools in order of preference.”
“I want to move on to the issue of school secretaries. These are often the first person a child or a parent will meet on a school day. School caretakers keep the school buildings ready for use. Both roles are crucial to the smooth running of schools. We in Sinn Féin stand with these workers and their union Fórsa in their parity campaign. Their demands are fair and just. Giving every child the opportunity to reach their full potential must begin with ensuring that we have enough teachers. The National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals and the Teachers' Union of Ireland found that 64% of schools have unfilled vacancies, with 20% of schools forced to drop subjects due to the lack of teachers. Last year, an INTO survey of primary and secondary schools revealed almost 1,000 teaching vacancies across the State.”
“Those engaged with the school embrace the quote, "It is easier to build strong children than repair broken men". This line stuck with me. It encapsulates for me the importance of education and of allowing children to reach their full potential. I would suggest that if possible The Sky is the Limit project could be rolled out in other areas. Across the city to the south side of Limerick, we have the Le Chéile National School. I appeal to the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy McEntee, to reach out to the Le Chéile National School. I have raised this in the Dáil on a number of occasions. For a variety of reasons, it has been missed out on all the supports, services and everything. This is a school in the second most deprived area in the State and it probably has the highest number of people with diagnosed and undiagnosed diagnoses.”
“Ensuring that every child can achieve their full potential is the ethos that should drive everything we do in terms of education. Economic background, social class, or financial resources should not be impediments to the success of any child in our education system. They say it takes a village to raise a child but it is also true that it takes the full community to educate a child. In mid-April I attended a research report launch for The Sky is the Limit at Corpus Christi National School in the north side of Limerick city. Those who spoke at the launch included teachers, past pupils and support workers from the community. It is a fantastic school. The report shows just how important it is for every school and for every child to have the full support of the wider community.”
“Global hunger monitors have warned that 500,000 people face starvation and hunger. We in Sinn Féin urge the Government to use all diplomatic, legislative and political options to press for the end of military action and the achievement of a lasting ceasefire.”
“Condemnation without action can be and is being dismissed and ignored. The lack of sanctions allows Israel to continue to trade and gather resources for its campaign of genocide against the people of Gaza. No humanitarian aid has been allowed into Gaza in the past 80 days. We learned today that none of the tiny trickle of aid that has been allowed in recently has been distributed. Humanitarian trucks full of food and medicine are blocked and people are literally starving a few miles away. That is a genocide. Mr. Michael D. Higgins, Uachtarán na hÉireann, said on Saturday in Limerick at the Famine memorial day event that, during our Gorta Mór, food was leaving Limerick at the same time as people were starving, and that we are seeing similar scenes in Gaza. The UN and others have highlighted the widespread malnutrition in Gaza.”
“These attacks have targeted hospitals, schools, universities and displacement camps, and seen the forced displacement of millions of people. A number of politicians in Israel have been clear about their goal: the removal of Palestinian people from the land of Gaza. Israel, with the staunch backing of the United States, has been allowed to act with impunity. Israel faces no consequences and pays no penalty for the terror it has imposed on the people of Gaza. European leaders have been enablers of Israel as it has massacred men, women and children. Many of these scenes have been broadcast on our screens in the past 19 months, and Irish people are truly horrified at what they are watching. The State of Israel seems immune to the criticism of the international community. Why would it not be?”
“I extend my solidarity to the Palestinian people. Israel has imposed a blockade across the occupied Palestinian territories, using the most brutal military tactics, and murdered tens of thousands of people. This is particularly true in Gaza where, over the past 19 months, there has been a systematic campaign of murder, forced displacement, attacks on health centres, the arbitrary detention of thousands of people, which has been a near-daily occurrence, and many actions that clearly constitute a genocide. Since the attack on 7 October 2023 by Hamas and others, the response from Israel has been brutal, uncompromising and criminal. Thousands of people, particularly women and children, have been killed by Israel.”
“The Respect at Work report shows union-busting is not just a memory from the 1980s or from 1913 but that it is happening now, in 2025. There are lots of quotes in that report. I recommend the Minister of State read it. The Bill is needed. There needs to be a universal right to trade union representation and it is critical for most low-paid and vulnerable workers. It is the right thing to do for workers. It is the right thing to do, period.”
“The directive needs to be implemented because the Government cannot be relied on to protect workers' rights. That is a simple fact. We have seen a commitment to implementing a living wage suspended from 2026 until 2029. We have seen the indefinite suspension of auto-enrolment since the general election. We have seen, since the general election, the suspension of increases to paid sick leave. On commitment to workers after commitment to workers, there has been a rowing back since the election campaign. The Bill needs to be enacted so we do not have to rely on either the State or the private sector to support workers' rights. Fórsa has had to embark on a campaign to seek a fair and equitable pension for school secretaries and caretakers. That campaign is ongoing and it is one I support.”
“This is a Bill that my party and I will be supporting. I am a proud member of SIPTU and have been for a number of years. The aims of the Bill are sound and seek to provide a legal basis for trade union recognition by employers where 20% of employees are members of a union. In the 21st century, it is appalling that not every worker has fair representation, dignity and the ability to engage in collective bargaining. The Bill is incredibly important, particularly as the current Government made no mention in the programme for Government of the implementation of the adequate minimum wage directive. This is a directive about the promotion of collective bargaining and states taking an active role in promoting it. The Government has already missed the 2024 transposition deadline.”
“This was ignored, and instead we were presented with a proposal for the position of a housing tsar on an outrageous salary of €100,000 more than the average house in Limerick for a job the Minister should be doing himself. In 2024, Limerick was allocated money to buy houses for tenants in situ , which was one of the good things the Government did when it got rid of the no-fault eviction ban. We told it people would be entering emergency accommodation and become homeless. Of 107 people we were supposed to be buying houses for, 24 will be bought from money from last year and there is no money from this year. As for the rest of the 107 people, I will ask the Minister of State a question I asked at the time the Government got rid of the no-fault eviction ban. Where are those people supposed to go? The Government is making them homeless.”
“There is a litany of reasons delivery is slow and prices continue to spiral. We have a housing plan that is not fit for purpose and we have had successive governments underfunding the critical infrastructure needed for housing delivery. The Irish Home Builders Association has warned repeatedly that drinking water and wastewater capacity are a constraint on housing delivery. We have had Uisce Éireann warning there is a need for a significant increase in capital funding in order to keep pace with the Government's revised housing targets. That has not been done. We have a Government that ignores its own Housing Commission's recommendations. It recommended a housing delivery oversight executive with executive powers underpinned by legislation.”
“There is a housing emergency in this State. Whatever way the Government tries to spin it, that is what we have. Whether someone is a house buyer, renter or waiting on the council to provide a house, he or she will find they face a challenging and often very long course. Limerick has seen rents increase by an astonishing 75% since 2020 and house purchase prices have increased by 44% since 2019. Many people have been on council housing waiting lists in excess of seven years. Indeed, the average house price now stands at €325,000. That figure has been increasing in the last three months, so prices continue to spiral. The Government housing plan is failing. Last year in Limerick, 1,000 dwellings were built, which is 3,300 short of what the Housing Commission believed was needed for the county.”
“Last month, I had the pleasure of attending the Access to Apprenticeship awards at TUS in Limerick. Many of those achieving the awards were the first in their families to ever attend third level. That achievement cannot be underestimated. Those getting their awards had completed their access course and because of their hard work were faced with the opportunity to continue their education work. One of the young graduates spoke bravely of the challenges in her life and her background, which made the idea of attending a graduation ceremony a most unlikely dream, but she did it and spoke of her next steps. If we can do anything, we need to support access to apprenticeship schemes in university, in TUS in Limerick and roll it out across the State.”
“We are exceptionally fortunate when you consider we have the Technological University of the Shannon, where I studied, the University of Limerick, Mary Immaculate, the teacher training college, the Limerick College of Further Education, Griffith College and a wonderful arts college all on our doorstep. These institutions contribute greatly to Limerick as do the thousands of students who study there and those who work in these institutions. However, access to further education for some is still a massive challenge. A student contribution of €3,000 is way too high. We urgently need to move to a free fees scheme. We have an 11% drop out rate and this has been constant for a several years. It is reflective of the high costs associated with going to third level. Education is the gateway to success.”
“It has been said that education is the most important weapon you can use to change the world for the better. In a changing and more complex world to navigate this has never been truer. For our further and higher education institutions to enable economic growth, they must be supported. The programme for Government commits to ongoing investment in these institutions to deliver sustainable economic growth, but we have yet to see that ambition matched with delivery. The Government seems not to realise the scale of the funding crisis in our university sector. Eight of the 18 publicly funded higher education institutions were in the red last year. Unfortunately, one of those was from my city of Limerick. The University of Limerick was on that list. I am proud to come from a university city.”
“I worked in the travel industry for 19 years; I know we cannot tell airlines what to do. However, as my colleague, Deputy McGettigan, said, we can support the airlines and make it more attractive for them. That has to be what we do. We cannot go on with this situation. We are probably the only country in the world where 80% of the flights from the country go from one airport. That has to change. We have significant capacity for our airports to deal with those issues.”
“Nobody is asking the Minister to rush the review or to do a review that would not be comprehensive, but as he knows, the last review was done ten years ago. People in the mid-west region and in Mayo and Galway are waiting for what the outcome of that review will be. Shannon Airport, as I said, has the capacity to handle 5 million passengers per year. In 2024, it serviced 2.1 million passengers and, therefore, has the capacity to grow. Four members of the Shannon International Airport Oireachtas Group are in the Chamber today. We met recently with the chief executive of Shannon Airport Group. From that meeting, I can verify that the chief executive and the wider group, as the Minister said, are ready and willing to expand their operations if they can get the supports from the Government.”
“As my colleague said, these questions focus on when we can see a review. Does the Minister have any idea when the draft review will be done? When will the review be completed? Shannon Airport is one of the regional airports we will be championing. As the Minister knows, Shannon Airport is the gateway to the Wild Atlantic Way. It serves the mid-west region. As we have said in the past, it is the fulcrum of the prosperity that is in the area, and thousands of people are dependent on Shannon Airport. It is a fantastic airport and is under-used. It has the capacity for up to 5 million people but it does not get anywhere near that many, unfortunately.”
“We need the terms of reference and a timeframe for the implementation of the action plan promised in the programme for Government. Parents and early years staff cannot wait any longer.”
“I spoke earlier today to an early years educator in Limerick who told me he has a waiting list of almost 250 children for a community-based early years facility. Parents are paying up to and beyond €1,000 per month for childcare, which is placing a huge financial burden on many families. Many couples are left having to choose between two incomes or one spouse staying at home to care for the children. For may families, one income is not sufficient to support the household and meet the cost of rent or mortgage repayments. It is unacceptable that providers, in turn, face penalties in some circumstances. Flexibility should be afforded. The Sinn Féin motion is supported by the Together for Public alliance, which calls for a public system of early childhood education and care.”
“This is a sector that, as it stands, does not best serve the needs of parents, children, educators or providers. There are two main issues that need to be addressed urgently. The first is the need for more places in early years facilities and the second is the need to improve the pay and conditions of staff. After studying four years for a degree, pay for most workers in the field starts at €13.65 an hour, which amounts to just above the minimum wage. It is no wonder so many are leaving the sector. They handle children in some of their most critical development years but the pay does not reflect the importance of their work. They should be valued more than that. The private profit-driven system does not meet the needs of a changing society. The other issue, as I mentioned, is the shortage of places.”
“Early years education and the need for movement to a public childcare model were huge issues during the recent general election campaign. The Tánaiste referenced them multiple times as a key priority should Fine Gael be returned to government. More than 100 days after the formation of the Government, we have seen little to no movement on this key priority that was mentioned so many times by the Tánaiste. The programme for Government commits to the publication of an action plan. That is welcome but we need a date for when the plan will be published. Without a date, there is a real concern that, like other election promises by Government parties, this commitment will fall into the ether. A move to a public early years education sector must happen fast.”
“They had to fight every step of the way to see the injustice done to them acknowledged. This is a group of men who are champions of what they went through, something that was covered up by the Christian Brothers for years and years. A letter recently emerged, which showed the order had written confirmation in 1969 that a Christian brother was an abuser. The victims were dragged through the courts and had to go to Brussels. A motion was debated in the Thirty-second Dáil. To this day, not everything has been sorted out.”
“For instance, we have incredibly long waits for basic autism assessments. We all know, and experts tell us repeatedly, that early intervention is crucial for a child's development, yet children are waiting 32 months for an autism assessment in my county of Limerick. Now is the time to deliver for people with disabilities in State care and improve the level of care provided. Now is the time to address the immense waiting list for the provision of services such as day care, respite, waiting lists for assessment of needs and others. Now is the time to change the State's adversarial approach to victims, be it those who have been failed in State care or those such as the brave men I have dealt with for a number years regarding Creagh Lane national school in Limerick.”
“The report found there was a fundamental failure by the health board and HSE in their duty of care and serious neglect and financial mismanagement in respect of Grace. After eight years of investigation, there remains a lack of answers and accountability for how this young woman was treated. The report demonstrates how the much the system can fail those with disabilities in the care of the State. The Children's Residential and Aftercare Voluntary Association has repeatedly called for a review of Ireland's care system and I urge the Government to ensure this happens as a priority. There remains a number of vulnerable people in the care of the State who are not getting the care and support they need from the State and that must change. More broadly, how people with disabilities are treated must improve dramatically.”
“The Farrelly report left an awful lot of unanswered questions. The report did not deliver for Grace or her mother. Grace was not heard. At a cost of €13.6 million, we expected clarity and demanded more answers. In a short and precise seven-sentence press release, the General Solicitor, Ms Marie-Claire Butler, whom I know the Minister recently met, said that after examining the Farrelly commission's 2,000-page report, she had concerns. She described how her office's considered and extensive submissions to the commission were not included or referred to in any way in the report. She said that is an issue that needs to be publicly aired. It is utterly bizarre. Grace's story is a story of State failure at every turn. Once again, a person with disabilities was failed in this State.”