Michael Collins
Cork South-West · Independent Ireland · Ireland
“This matter has been raised twice already this morning, but it is hugely important. I will make a personal appeal to the Taoiseach regarding Skyclarys and the further delay that has now arisen. Yesterday, Emma O'Shea came to Leinster House from west Cork with her mother, father and brother.”
“Another huge problem which normally arises in August is that relating to school buses. Parents have no way to get their children to school because of the nearest school rule. The current and previous programmes for Government contain promises that this will be done away with, but nothing has happened. The rule needs to be abolished.”
“Every parent knows that September has become one of the most expensive months of the year. While free schoolbooks are welcome, many families now face growing costs for other items. Parents are being asked to purchase laptops that cost €400 or more, make increased payments for school transport and pay charges to cover examination fees.”
“Either 25 children are left without a school place this September, or two senior infants classes are merged into one class of 34 children. Does the Minister of State agree that schools should not be punished for helping to solve an enrolment crisis? Will he immediately sanction the additional teaching posts required for St.”
“Education should not be measured by means of the distance someone lives from school, and school transport should not be measured on that basis either. I want to raise a matter that Councillor Bill Clear brought to my attention. It is a very serious issue regarding St. Corban’s National School in Naas in County Kildare.”
“I was chairperson of a board of management and know the difficulties that schools face just because they are one or two children short. That can be made up as the year goes on but it is a crisis that Councillor Clear finds unacceptable.”
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“I welcome the Government's new community pharmacy agreement but, to be very clear, our independent pharmacists and communities have waited far too long for this kind of recognition. This agreement has good intentions but we in the Independent Ireland Party will not stand by and let it become another glossy plan that gathers dust while patients and pharmacists on the ground continue to struggle. There are positives. Expanding the role of pharmacists to treat common conditions is just common sense. Allowing pharmacies to deliver more vaccinations and to support screening programmes brings care closer to the people. We welcome the increased training grants and the overdue commitment to digital prescribing and shared records. These steps will help ease the pressure on GPs and hospitals, something we have been calling for from day one.”
“In my final 20 seconds, I will ask the remainder my questions together and see how I get on. What concrete actions will Ireland as a neutral country take at the UN and in the EU, and bilaterally, to insist on safe passage for humanitarian supplies and to hold to account those responsible for the blockage? Will the Tánaiste assure the House that Ireland as a neutral country will not be silent or complicit but will use diplomatic channels available to ensure that the starving population receives the supplies it desperately needs? In reality, what can we as a neutral country do to help the people of Gaza and to help to end this devastating war?”
“As I said, given our own experience in the Famine, where food was exported while our people starved, does the Tánaiste agree that Ireland carries a special moral duty to stand against the use of hunger as a weapon?”
“If food is being blocked, it is not only immoral but is a breach of international law that cannot be tolerated. I appeal to the Tánaiste to remember our own history. He should remember our own Famine and make sure Ireland is not complicit in silence. Let us be the voice that says clearly: never again should food be blocked while people starve. If the flotilla means anything, it should mean hope and relief, not hunger and not despair. Ireland must use its place to make that clear. I for one will continue to call for it. Will the Tánaiste confirm whether our supplies that are bound for starving civilians have been delayed or obstructed by the interception of the flotilla and what steps Ireland as a neutral country has taken to demand the detainees' immediate release?”
“When we see supplies prevented from reaching starving people when international law is cast aside in the name of power, we have a duty to speak not just for ourselves but for those who have no voice. I accept that diplomacy is complex. I accept that nations act in their own interests. However, there comes a point when humanitarian needs must be placed above politics, strategy and every other consideration. Children cannot eat words. They need food. Ireland, of all countries, should not stand silently by. We must insist that humanitarian supplies are allowed safe passage and that the flotilla is not turned into a weapon of starvation. It is not enough to make statements of concern. We must raise our voice at the highest levels, in Brussels, in the UN and in every forum on which we sit.”
“All of us in the Independent Ireland party reaffirm Ireland's unwavering commitment to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in conflict zones. Yesterday evening Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice asked: where is world order, where is respect and where are people coming together for peace? I want to speak plainly about the developments around the global flotilla. Overnight, we saw, not just manoeuvres at sea, but manoeuvrers that carry a terrible human cost. While ships are blocked, men, women and children are going hungry. Ireland knows that pain. We carry it from our history in our bones from the time of the Great Irish Famine. Ships laden with food passed our shores while our people starved on the roadsides. That memory is not just history. It is a warning.”
“I have both statements and questions. To start with, I just spoke to Councillor Ger Curley who is an Independent councillor. The worries and concerns of the people of Cobh are for Paddy O'Donovan and the other Irish citizens who have been detained. There are serious concerns in Cobh in regard to Paddy O'Donovan, including among his family. I hope that we convey those concerns to the relevant people. On Tuesday, during my contributions in the Dáil on the flotilla, I stated that all of us in the Independent Ireland party publicly support the humanitarian nature of the global Sumud Flotilla. All of us in the Independent Ireland party call for safe and unhindered passage for all humanitarian aid vessels.”
“There is no structured supports for athletes like him despite their dedication and success. These champions are not sporting icons, they are ambassadors for our communities, role models for our youth and proof that rural Ireland can produce world-class talent, but talent alone is not enough. Investment is needed in facilities, coaching and travel support. Funding is needed that matches the ambition and potential of our athletes. While I welcome the funding we have received for different clubs in west Cork, I ask the Minister of State to look at the likes of Evan Collins and ask why he has to set up a GoFundMe page. Can more be done for the likes of him and other athletes who deserve that extra bit of a push which will get them across the line? I would appreciate if the Minister of State looked into that.”
“West Cork is home to some of Ireland's most extraordinary sporting talent, from the Olympic gold of Paul and Gary O'Donovan and Fintan McCarthy in Skibbereen to the blistering speed of Phil Healy from Ballineen. Our athletes continue to inspire the nation. We have seen Nicola Tuthill from Kilbrittain rise as one of Ireland's brightest stars in the hammer throw, breaking records and representing us on the world stage. Evan Collins, a young kickboxer from west Cork who has trained for over a decade with Ian Kingston, has competed internationally since the age of nine, bringing home medals from Türkiye, Italy and Hungary. Behind these achievements lies a troubling reality. Evan and others have had to rely on GoFundMe campaigns just to represent Ireland.”
“Some 611,828 people aged 15 plus are providing unpaid care; 67,000 children aged ten to 17 are also carers; 69% of carers find it hard to make ends meet; 48% report severe loneliness; 41% have a long-term health condition themselves; and 72% have never received any respite. These are the people who are holding up our care system and yet they are being left behind. The Government has increased income disregards but that still leaves thousands excluded. We, in Independent Ireland, are fully supportive of the complete abolition of the means test. That is what carers need. That is what carers demand. Life is hard for those who need care but it is also hard for those carers. Many get no break, no support and no recognition. The very least we can do is ensure they receive a payment, regardless of household income.”
“It needs to split clean down and started right up from the ground again. Since 2024, across Cork and Kerry over 11% of public nursing home beds are currently closed due to staffing shortages, refurbishment delays and regulatory bottlenecks. This is happening while families are being forced to look far outside their communities for care. I hold clinics every Saturday across west Cork and I hear the same story every week. A constituent caring full-time for a loved one is unable to work yet is denied support because of household income. These carers are doing full-time work, often more than 35 hours a week - often a hell of a lot more - and still get nothing. It is not good enough; not in 2025. Let us look at the facts.”
“In Bantry alone, 17 beds remain closed in Aperee Living Nursing Home - an issue I brought up with the Minister but he did not come back to me - due to delays in HIQA paperwork, despite this home being fully refurbished and passed by the fire officer. Every week, my office hears from families desperately trying to find a bed for loved ones, whether it is in that nursing home, in a community hospital or wherever. It is getting worse and worse. The people on the ground are telling me it is a crisis situation. Do not bother turning to home help. Mother of Jesus, the Government has made a right hames of that anyway. You will get a simple answer: there is no home help available. If you meet the home help people, they say they will do the extra hours but they will not be given them. There is a right cock-up there.”
“On 21 May this year, Independent Ireland put forward a motion, part of which called for the abolish the means test for carers. The Government said it would not oppose the motion. Budget 2026 is here next week so let us see if the Government puts its money where its mouth is. Family carers save the Irish State over €20 billion every year by providing 19 million hours of unpaid care each week. That is not just a contribution; it is a cornerstone of our health and social care system. These carers are keeping loved ones at home, out of hospitals and nursing homes and giving them dignity and quality of life yet many are denied carer's allowance simply because their spouse earns just over the threshold. That is not support; it is punishment. We are facing a serious shortage of nursing home beds.”
“When new flood structures have been put in place, many people come to me to say they still cannot get insurance. When you are trying to buy a house, you are told straight up you will not be able to get insurance after buying the house even though the flood structures are in place. If it was previous to that, you would say something, but it is very unfair. The insurance companies need to be brought to task for that. Everybody wants to buy a home, but they want to have the comfort of at least being insured. I would appreciate it if the Minister of State would look into these matters.”
“Some premiums have dropped since 2016, but the reality is that most people are still paying more and insurers are making disproportionate profits. We in the Independent Ireland party believe that insurance should protect, not punish. We call on the Government to stand up to insurance companies and demand fair pricing, address excessive profits in the sector, recognise the role of high insurance costs in driving the cost-of-living crisis, and ensure transparency and accountability in all future reforms. As I have said previously, we must deliver for the people who elect us. That means fighting for fairness, for affordability and for reform that actually reaches the pockets of workers, families and communities. There was mention of flood insurance earlier on.”
“The price of insurance is incredible for the voluntary work they are trying to do. This is not reform; this is exploitation. Independent Ireland is a party that stands for commonsense and fairness. Our manifesto calls for real oversight of profiteering industries. We propose a Department of efficiency and reform, staffed by experts from the private sector, to root out waste and ensure value for money. We support the Judicial Council (Amendment) Bill 2021, which would ensure that the benefits of personal injury reforms are passed on to consumers, not pocketed by insurers. We demand Oireachtas oversight of personal injury guidelines and insist that any future policy changes must result in lower premiums for the people of Ireland. This Government boasts about the action plan for insurance reform.”
“What about those who do not have someone to speak up for them? We are now facing a three-tier healthcare system in this country. If you have insurance, you are offered the treatment. If you have insurance but the company refuses to pay, you are left fighting. If you are on a medical card, you are not even offered the option. This is not just inequality; it is inhumane. It is a system that puts profit before people and it must be dismantled. Motor insurance costs have risen by more than four times the rate of inflation and health insurance now costs families nearly €2,000 a year. That is not just unsustainable; it is unjust. While claims-related costs have dropped, premiums continue to rise. Business and community groups are paying more for less. I know it because I am in plenty of community groups. It is astonishing.”
“I fully support this motion, which rightly calls out the Government's failure to tackle the rip-off culture that has existed in the insurance industry for many years. I have stood in this Chamber previously to highlight the burden that sky-rocketing insurance premiums place on ordinary people. In November 2023, I asked the Minister for Finance why a constituent's motor insurance had increased so drastically. The answer referred to market trends and risk profiles, but what about fairness and accountability? Let me remind the House of a case I raised here in the Dáil. A man with full, comprehensive health insurance - it is not just car insurance we should be talking about - who was battling cancer was denied access to pembro, a life-saving medication. It was only after I raised the issue publicly that the insurance company finally gave in.”
“All of us in the Independent Ireland party reaffirm Ireland's unwavering commitment to international humanitarian law and the protection of civilians in conflict zones. This is not about taking sides. Rather, it is about standing for human dignity, medical neutrality and the principle that no child should die for lack of medicine or food. Ireland's neutrality has always been a platform for peace and humanitarian action. Let us use it now, not with silence but with support. We call for peace, not just a pause in fighting, but a meaningful and lasting peace, one that allows communities to rebuild, children to grow and hospitals to heal.”
“The lessons of that time are clear. When people are starving, delay is deadly. We also remember the Choctaw Nation who, in 1847, despite their own hardship, sent aid to Ireland. That active solidarity has never been forgotten today. We have an opportunity to reflect that same spirit. The Global Sumud Flotilla is an echo of that kind of solidarity. It is a peaceful mission, grounded in humanitarian law and moral duty, yet it faces threats of interception, drone surveillance and obstruction. Some vessels have already been damaged and others have been forced to reroute, but the mission continues. All of us in the Independent Ireland party publicly support the humanitarian nature of the Global Sumud Flotilla. All of us in the Independent Ireland party call for safe and unhindered passage for all humanitarian aid vessels.”
“Last week, I listened to "Morning Ireland" where a doctor who had just returned from Gaza spoke about the distress he had endured. He had moved his family to another country to keep them safe and said he was one of the lucky ones. Despite having money, he could not buy food because there was none to buy. Another doctor who was interviewed on Irish radio described the dire medical shortages. He said they had no gauze, and were forced to squeeze out the blood from used gauze and reuse it. That is the level of desperation we are talking about. Ireland has a unique perspective on famine. During the Great Irish Famine of the 1840s, over 1 million people died and another million emigrated. While food was available, it was not accessible to those who needed it most. Aid was slow, inconsistent and often politicised.”
“Today we are speaking about the Global Sumud Flotilla, a civilian led humanitarian mission currently en route to Gaza. The flotilla, made up of vessels from over 40 countries, is carrying medical supplies, food and essential aid to a population facing catastrophic conditions. This is not a political statement; this is a humanitarian one. The people involved are doctors, nurses and aid workers. Their cargo is not weapons, but rather antibiotics, baby formula, surgical kits, food and clean water. The goal is simple, namely, to alleviate suffering. Since March, Gaza's borders have been closed to aid. Hospitals are overwhelmed. Disease is spreading and famine conditions are worsening. The flotilla represents a global effort to respond where traditional channels have failed.”
“Why is the EPA not holding Uisce Éireann accountable in Dunmanway, Rosscarbery, Ballydehob and Goleen where raw sewage is pouring into the rivers? Now that accountability has finally arrived, what is the plan, what action will be taken to restore Shannonvale Park, protect the River Argideen and ensure proper water infrastructure for future generations?”
“After 27 years of frustration, Uisce Éireann is finally being held accountable following a case brought by the EPA. The organisation was found guilty on both charges for breaches of its wastewater licence at Shannonvale Park, Clonakilty yesterday and fined €4,000. This is a major step forward. It recognises the environmental damages done to Shannonvale Park and to the River Argideen to Clonakilty, a vital local waterway. It also highlights the need to protect water quality near Jones' Bridge, which supplies drinking water to thousands across west Cork. If this were a farmer, would the EPA wait 27 years while raw sewage leaked into the gardens and local rivers in Shannonvale, Clonakilty? No, the farmer would have been fined and put out of business within weeks.”
“At the meeting of the Business Committee last Thursday, I asked that the Minister for agriculture come before the Dáil on the grain crisis in this country at present and the sensational drop in milk prices, which is putting some farmers under serious pressure. I also ask that the Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries comes to the House for statements on the struggling inshore fishermen and developments in the Rockall situation and the bluefin tuna quota. How far has the Minister of State progressed on this?”
“As I said earlier, 600 of these businesses went last year and another 150 went in the first three months of this year. If they are employing 15 people on average, it means that up to 11,250 people have lost their jobs, with thousands more jobs to go if the Government does not step in. Next week, this Government has a chance to drop the VAT rate immediately. Will the Taoiseach tell us if this will happen on the day the budget is announced? If he is going to tell us he is kicking the can down the road, it will lead to hundreds and hundreds more closures.”
“I thank the Taoiseach. As he will know from his holidays in west Cork or elsewhere, when there is a huge influx of people, there is a bonus from that but the problem is that the bonus does not last. If you go past a café today, there might be two or three people sitting outside it. It is during the busier times that they make their little bit of profit. The proof is in the experience of the business person I mentioned earlier, who opened a café in January and had to wait until the end of July to get an income for himself. That says it all. He spent the previous seven months earning nothing but paying staff, rates and everything. He obviously had a dream that this business would last and survive, but his dream is turning into a nightmare.”
“In recent media reports, I have heard the Labour Party, the Social Democrats and People Before Profit all say they will hit out at the Government if it considers a drop in the VAT rate to 9%. Independent Ireland stands by these businesses as we are in touch with these people on the ground. We know the exact difficulties they are going through. Before the last election, Government TDs promised an immediate drop in the VAT rate. Will the Taoiseach clearly tell the House today that the Government is still committed to dropping the VAT rate from 13.5% to 9% in next week's budget, effective immediately? If not - if it tries to kick the can down the road - it will lead to hundreds of cafés and restaurants closing their doors for good this winter.”
“This Government has promised a drop in the VAT rate for these businesses for the past year or so and it cannot be kicked down the road any longer. We cannot allow these small, but effective businesses that are employing ten, and in some cases up to 20, local people, including young people and students, just to shut their doors. These businesses are not asking for handouts. They pay rates, electricity, oil and rubbish bills; they have staffing costs; they have to pay PRSI; they pay for insurance and maintenance; and they purchase stock. Lately, a new charge has been levied by the councils for outdoor seating. All this and then they are expected to turn a profit. This has turned dream cafés and food outlets into nightmare adventures.”
“Everywhere I go, whether it is Dublin, Galway, Wexford or west Cork, the cry is the same; the VAT rate has to drop or the doors will shut. One café owner told me at the end of July that the first time he had made a profit to pay himself was two weeks earlier. He had been open since January this year. He knows it is curtains for his business. The crisis the sector is in now is that the new VAT rate drop, if it comes, will not go to customers as a reduction. It will just help to pay bills, such as energy bills, that have spiralled out of control. It is the same for restaurants, which in most of the country are closed for most of the week as they suffer too many losses if the doors are open seven days per week.”
“As we near the budget announcement next week, there is no doubt about the demands on the Government with the cost-of-living crisis, with families and the elderly severely squeezed financially at this time. Tillage and dairy farmers are under enormous pressure. Independent Ireland has also called for the abolition of the carer's means test. One thing Independent Ireland has called for in the past two years is to bring the VAT rate from 13.5% to 9% for the hospitality sector. That was the rate until September 2023. This sector is under enormous pressure as cafés and restaurants throughout the country are losing money on a daily basis. In 2024, 600 cafés and similar food establishments closed their doors. Also under enormous pressure are restaurants, most of which close four or five days per week as it is too costly to open their doors.”
“The over-70s issue has been kicked from pillar to post. We hear it is Bus Éireann's issue and then that the Minister will not make a decision. Someone has to stand up here and make a decision, and make it quickly. This has been going on for the nine years I am in the Dáil. People over 70 years of age having a medical certificate proving their health surely should make them eligible to drive a bus and pick up many of the children who have been left on the side of the road since the beginning of this school term.”
“The expansion of the fare scheme to include commercial operators, specifically the inclusion of commercial operators in the free public transport initiative for the under-nines, is a must as we go forward. We cannot have a two-tier system, which will lead, if it continues, to private bus operators going out of business. The Minister mentioned the school transport service catering for 178,000 people. However, hundreds cannot get a transport services for different reasons. Sometimes, it is almost impossible to get any communication from Bus Éireann. At one time, we, as public representatives, could get a response from it. Now, we cannot get a response from the Minister or Bus Éireann. I urge that someone in the Department at least get us answers for parents who have children stranded on the side of the road.”
“I wish to make the Minister aware of a particular case - there are similar cases in communities throughout Ireland - namely that of the 20 to 30 children in Ballinadee, County Cork, who are eligible for school transport. The operator has no driver under the age of 70. He has a driver who is over 70 years of age and who is fully medically fit. However, that individual is not allowed drive a school bus. These children are being left on the side of the road with no way of getting to school. Budget 2026 must reflect these priorities. This is about fairness, common sense and ensuring that Ireland's transport system works for everyone.”
“Buses have the lowest carbon footprint per passenger of any motorised transport. Another issue is the ban on drivers over the age of 70 operating school bus routes by imposed by successive Ministers. This is despite a national shortage of drivers. These individuals can legally drive children to matches or swimming lessons, just not to and from school in the morning or afternoon. This policy is not only illogical, it is discriminatory. It sidelines experienced and medically fit drivers who want to contribute and are badly needed. The Government must act now to lift this restriction and allow qualified drivers over 70 to return to school transport services.”
“It is essential that commercial bus operators are treated similarly from a competitiveness perspective. This is not the situation at present as a result of the unequal and unfair application of the 20% fare reduction scheme to customers of NTA-licensed public transport services. If this is not addressed, it will further undermine the sustainability of commercial bus operators which are already under significant pressure. I will share some key facts. Some 80% of private operators are based outside of Dublin, serving communities with limited transport options. Some 80% of Ireland's bus fleet is privately owned and half is less than five years old, thereby meeting EU emissions standards. The sector invests €80 million annually in new vehicles. One bus can replace 30 cars, thereby easing congestion and cutting emissions.”
“The Coach Tourism and Transport Council of Ireland's pre-budget 2026 submission is a call for fairness, common sense and strategic investment in Ireland's commercial bus and coach sector. This industry is essential. It delivers over 95% of school transport services, supports 11,500 jobs and contributes €620 million annually to the economy. It carries 75 million passengers per year, including tourists, students and rural and urban commuters, yet is undermined by outdated policies and unequal treatment. Let us start with the unfair exclusion of commercial operators from public fare reduction schemes. This has created a two-tier public transport system. Passengers who rely on private operators, many in rural and urban areas, are denied the cost-of-living supports offered to others.”
“Independent Ireland believes that, as a basic principle of new policy measures, people will need certainty, fairness and, above all, fairness. The scheme as I see it fails on all three counts. I call on the Government to come clean even at this late stage to put guarantees in place and stop shifting the burden onto the shoulders of workers and small businesses.”
“Employees will be automatically enrolled whether they like it or not. Yes, they can opt out after six months but only to be dragged back in every two years. That is not choice. That is entrapment. For employers, the consequences of slipping up are heavy. There are heavy fines, prosecutions and layers of red tape that make running a small business even harder. The central question is if the scheme will replace the State pension. Ministers say it will not but these are the same politicians who promised to abolish the USC and we all know how that turned out. Workers are right to be sceptical unless there is a cast-iron guarantee that auto-enrolment is a top-up and not a replacement. People will rightly fear that the State pension is being hollowed out.”
“Let us speak plainly about the Government's new auto-enrolment pensions scheme, which is due to begin next year. On the surface, it is being sold as a measure to help people save for retirement but after a closer look, it has all the hallmarks of another USC in the making, a so-called temporary charge that workers are still paying 14 years later. Under the scheme, employees and employers will each be forced to contribute 3% of gross wages. What will the Government contribute? A mere half of 1%. That is not a partnership. It is a raw deal. Workers and small business are being asked to shoulder the load while the State pays the least. Employers, particularly small and medium businesses already under pressure, will face major new costs with the present economic uncertainty. Is this really a wise decision?”
“It is obvious to the tens of thousands of people out there that the process we have is wrong. Will the Minister commit to working with Independent Ireland to bring forward a Bill to put in a change to the effect that genuine candidates will face some regulation but will not be blocked by the bigger parties if they put their names forward for the Presidency?”
“Today marked the close of nominations of candidates for the Presidency. Only three people will go forward for the Presidency of this country, which has a population of 5 million. Some very genuine people, one of them being Maria Steen, put their name forward only to be blocked by what can only be called a big party rigged system. This age-old-age process must be scrapped. Independent Ireland will bring forward a Bill in the weeks ahead to not only allow Oireachtas Members to vote for a candidate but that will also include our MEPs and give stronger opportunities to councils to nominate with the backing of 75 councillors. It will also include a preliminary round of voting similar to the French presidential model. That would allow a wider and fairer field of candidates.”
“That is basically how the system the Government put in place works. We have proposed a practical community-based solution. We should use the existing meals-on-wheels network model to deliver hot meals to schools. These services are already on the road. They are already certified and trusted by the public. While we agree with much of what is contained in the motion, we have difficulty with the Labour Party's intention of shifting money from the reduction in VAT on the hospitality sector. Deputy Paul Murphy gave out about people talking to Adrian Cummins. I do not care who we talk to. The cafes, hairdressers and restaurants in this country are closing their doors. They do not have a clue. They think we should just shift money, which would further destroy them.”
“The Government must help them early, provide supports for those in arrears, and mediation between tenants and landlords, so people can keep their homes in the first place. Let us use the tax system to cut rents because workers paying more than half their wages in rent have no chance of getting ahead. Another issue that is related to child poverty is the hot school meals programme. It was meant to be a solution but, again, as we highlighted, it is deeply flawed. The scheme is riddled with bureaucracy and has become a form of discrimination against small rural schools. Unrealistic requirements such as architectural certification and mechanical ventilation are pushing providers away and leaving children without a hot meal. Some children who are living in the right place can get it but others cannot. It is a case of tough luck.”
“The fact that more than 5,000 children are currently living in emergency accommodation is a national disgrace. It is 5,000 young lives disrupted, 5,000 children in crisis, and 5,000 futures being shaped by instability and hardship. We in the Independent Ireland party believe the Government must go much further and much faster. It must declare a national housing emergency because that is what it is. The Government must use emergency powers to cut through the endless red tape that is choking delivery. We need modular and prefabricated homes that are modern and decent and that are rolled out in weeks not years. We must activate the thousands of vacant and derelict homes in towns and villages and turn emptiness into homes. We urge the Government to invest in prevention. Too many families end up homeless because of arrears or eviction notices.”
“The Minister of State's job is to represent the public; it is not to defend the profit margins of energy providers. He must act now by capping prices, reforming the market and delivering real support. If he will not stand up for the people, he is not fit to sit in his seat. That is the bottom line. We met representatives of the Irish Hairdressers Federation today. They are under immense pressure. The same is true of cafes around the country. We spoke about households. People who own restaurants, cafes and businesses like that are telling me they are going out of business. If they get a reduction in the rate of from 13% to 9%, it will be soaked up. The savings will not go back to the customer or come off prices because of the energy costs that people are paying.”
“While they struggle, energy companies are posting massive profits. What is the Government doing? Nothing. There has been no accountability, pressure or reform. I have repeatedly called for action. I have asked for transparency. I demanded that these companies be held to account. All I have received are vague statements and empty acknowledgements. People deserve better. I will share some of the figures relating to the profits of energy companies. Bord Gáis Energy had an operating profit of €75 million in 2024. The ESB's after-tax profit for 2024 was €706 million. Energia's pre-tax profit for 2024 was €154 million. Those are astonishing figures. Nobody is willing to say they will stand by the people and businesses that are going under as the result of increasing and massive pressure.”
“Once again, I speak on the behalf of people who are being crushed under the weight of soaring energy costs. Once again, I am forced to say that the Government is asleep at the wheel. There will be no energy credits this year. Why is that the case? It is because there is no election. That is the reality. The Government conned the electorate last year. That was how it bought votes. There is now no election. When votes are needed, credits appear. When they are not, families are left to fend for themselves. That is not leadership; it is political convenience. Energy costs affect every single person in this country, including children in cold classrooms, working families who are choosing between heating and paying for groceries, sick people who need warmth, elderly citizens on fixed incomes and small businesses that are trying to survive.”
“The Government is pointing the finger at Bus Éireann, Bus Éireann is pointing the finger back at the Government and, nine years later, we have no answers. It has gone beyond a farcical joke. We need answers from the Minister of State. I look forward to answers from him to see whether there is a way forward. Will he stand up for healthy bus drivers over 70 who have a medical certificate and say, "Yes, you can drive with a medical certificate"?”
“We also have a case at Kilcoe, Skibbereen, where 12 students in my constituency were told days before school started that they would not receive tickets, despite a 45-seater bus running with only 20 seats filled. Again, I have made numerous representations and received only acknowledgements. I am told there is a guarantee these students will not be left behind as happened in Ballinadee. While we at it, the situation with drivers aged over 70 is ludicrous. These drivers can pick up students and take them to swimming classes or school tours, etc., but Bus Éireann will not allow them take students to school. I am not blaming Bus Éireann. In the audiovisual room today, I asked whether the Minister has any responsibility. The drivers told me that yes, she does.”