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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“Deputy Richard O'Donoghue and myself of Independent Ireland met him. We pleaded with that young man to stay here and he is here, but he still does not see a future here. There is not a hope for that young man to have a house of his own or the things he needs here. I am going to Cape Clear this weekend for the same situation. They have no housing there. Their teacher is leaving because there is nobody coming into the local community on that island. We have a crisis no matter which way we turn, whether it is rural or urban.”
“In the last week or two we have both a Minister and a Senator, both in Government, fighting among themselves. One is saying they have the solution, the other saying that solution is ridiculous. This is not good enough for the people of Dunmanway. They need to build houses. They are living in close proximity to Cork city. They are in a beautiful part of the world. They cannot build one house there. There is no chance of development there for maybe the next 20 or 30 years. We do not know, because Uisce Éireann has complete control over everything that happens but there is no deadline on anything. It is giving itself plenty of space. I met Ryan McKeown today. I was in Dundalk. This young man came to us a couple of years ago. He said he was on the way out of this country because he could not see a future.”
“The council that is elected should have a say because they are representing the viewpoint of the people out there. I know zoned ground in Clonakilty that was de-zoned. I know plenty of places where a wreck was done. Now we are trying to undo that wreck and that mess at this time. I hope to God this Bill being put through the Dáil will help the people and will force Irish Water to now deliver, for the first time ever, and to hold it and the EPA accountable. I called for the resignation of the head of the EPA during the week. She comes out continuously slating agriculture and slating farmers regarding waters and our rivers. We know the biggest culprits are the State and the wastewater treatment plants. I see it with Shannonvale, pouring waste water into a local play park down into the river. People in Dunmanway cannot build one house.”
“When I was on the council around 2014 to 2016 I saw senior planners taking control and the local councillor, who knew every God damn thing going on in his community, regardless of it being urban or rural, was squashed out and his mouth was shut. Here we are in a crisis thanks to those people because they were clueless. They did not understand how planning worked. They did not understand how the housing crisis was going to develop if they continued to refuse and refuse. They were de-zoning land that was zoned. They were stopping development from taking place. There was a complete objection from senior planners and it has led us to the mess we are in right now. The county development plans should be re-looked at the length and breadth of this country, in every council, whether it is Cork County Council or wherever.”
“Independent Ireland will not be opposing this Bill going through the Dáil. That might be an example to the Minister as to how we are open to doing business. When we put forward a motion two or three weeks ago we put forward about 20 proposals, the Government put forward 24 or 25 amendments to make sure it did not go through the Dáil. It might have resolved the situation around housing and the situation we keep talking about, year in year out, month in month out. To be honest, the root of the problem, which unfortunately is of no value to the Minister to hear, is county development plans. That is where it all went wrong. I saw it myself.”
“This is the fifth week in a row I have asked that the Minister for education come to the Dáil to talk about the capitation grant and class sizes. It is hugely important now. We are facing into the summer break, almost immediately after which we will have the budget. It is a huge concern in the Irish National Teachers' Organisation, INTO, especially with regard to the capitation grant where some schools are facing closure.”
“It is to spend more on everyone else but not on our own. That is the whole point I am trying to make here. The spending of billions of euro has not really been approved here. It has been approved by Europe. We cannot be dictated to by Europe every day of the week. We have done our bit in relation to Ukrainian people when the trouble broke out there initially. We have done that but it seems like we are continuously opening our doors. We need further debates in the Dáil, but not divisive debates. People have different opinions and I have to respect that too but a debate is the democratic right of everybody. That democratic right is being refused to Gus, Jennifer and the people who are going to be kicked out of a west Cork nursing home in two weeks. Funding needs to be put in there and not where it is being put at the present time.”
“We do not see action. I will give the House a direct comparison. The Government has earmarked a paltry €100 million in this year's budget to help students and families with college fees. That is barely enough to keep up with inflation, let alone provide real relief to struggling parents. Meanwhile, we are spending billions on international protection and refugee accommodation. The figures released show that over €1.5 billion is being spent this year alone on accommodation services and direct provision for asylum seekers and refugees and that figure is rising every year without any democratic consent. Students are dropping out of college because their parents cannot afford to pay the rent. Parents are working two jobs to pay for books and transport. What is this Government's response?”
“Where are the residents to go? They are going to have no home and there is no issue with compliance other than a paperwork issue. All of this has to start and end somewhere. The bottom line is that the Government has opened up a door and it cannot close it now. It has no credibility. I brought up Citywest on numerous occasions, as well as other areas and called for a proper, open debate. There are people who have come into this country who have been welcomed. I have certainly looked for a lot of work visas for them and they are well entitled to come. However, just banging open the doors and taking off the hinges is not good enough but that is what has happened in this country. We can spend millions on everyone but not focus on our own. While all of this is happening, what do we hear from Ministers? We hear excuses and empty rhetoric.”
“HIQA recognises that there are no clinical or fire safety issues in the nursing home and that the standard of care is very good. The Minister of State is probably asking himself how that relates to the issue before us but I am telling him that we do not have homes for our own people. I held up a picture in the Chamber yesterday of a gentleman who told me I was entitled to do so. He is from Ballinspittle in west Cork but he had no home last night to sleep in. That is an astonishing situation. Last week, I held up another picture. This man is 77 years of age and last week I showed a picture of an 88-year-old woman who had no home. These are Irish people. Surely to God they need to be respected and there needs to be at least some thought given that they are entitled to a home. Now we have two nursing homes that are going to close.”
“The Government has handed over a staggering €148 million of taxpayers' money to make it permanent. There was no consultation, honesty or regard for the community. The Government has betrayed them and they know it. There has been no consultation in the Dáil. How can the Government spend €148 million without approval from Dáil Éireann? Whether we like it or not, that is where democracy starts and ends, by right. However, there was none; this all went on behind the people's backs. The Government spent €148 million on people who have no connections to Ireland, while hours ago I was informed that a much-needed and loved nursing home in Bantry is now being told its doors must be closed, along with another home in Conna. HIQA informed the receiver in charge of Aperee nursing home in Bantry that it is issuing a closure order for the home.”
“In fact, time and again they said the opposite. Over 70% of the population, according to repeated polls, including RED C and Ireland Thinks, believe this country has already taken too many migrants. That is the reality. That is the voice of a country with a housing crisis, a health crisis, an infrastructural crisis and a Government in absolute denial. Why is it ignoring the will of the Irish people on immigration? Why is it ignoring the concern of exhausted residents in Citywest, Dundrum, Athlone and areas all over Dublin? In my constituency, in communities where services are stretched and schools are full, people are told to just get on with it. The people of Saggart and surrounding areas were promised that the Citywest facility would be temporary. That promise is now in ashes.”
“I speak to the Minister today not just as leader of Independent Ireland or on behalf of my constituents, but on behalf of the tens of thousands of people across this country who feel ultimately betrayed by a Government that has wilfully ceded Irish sovereignty, ignored countless opinion polls and placed the interest of Brussels and bureaucracy above the basic needs of its own citizens. The Government had the option - the legal right under the Lisbon treaty - to opt out of the EU migration pact. Instead, it rolled over and surrendered. It signed us up to binding quotas, border detention policies and an EU-managed asylum system that will dictate whom we accept and how we manage our own borders. We had a choice and the Government chose to give that choice away. The Irish people never agreed to this.”
“That is an opportunity everyone should take. People should speak peacefully to others because we will never create peace when we are throwing stones from the other side and looking over the ditch.”
“Much of what people see on social media today probably upsets people, but they are upsetting scenes. There is no point in anyone being in denial and no one on our end will ever condone what is going on. We should be diplomatic in our way forward and seek peace through any channel possible. We should not condemn anyone who has a different way of trying to get peace. Some believe in shouting and roaring; more believe in sitting down around the table. I am a believer in sitting around the table and trying to see whether we can bring peace to the country. If that involves meeting our ambassador from America tomorrow, I would do it. I am not one bit afraid to say that. I will not stand behind others who think that is the wrong idea. No one will insult anybody, but we need to talk and open up the channels.”
“Independent Ireland is on the side of peace and making sure, first, that there is no more massacres of innocent people, second, that the starvation of people has to stop immediately and people have to get food and, third, that immediate aid be provided to the hospitals that are being bombed and they at least be allowed some safety. There are innocent people who have gone out there to give their time to help people. Another Deputy said he was getting a lot of emails. We are all receiving a lot of emails about this issue, some of which are extremely genuine. I have also received a lot of phone calls on this issue. I spoke to a gentleman two or three days ago who said he never rang a politician in his life, but rang all of the politicians in Cork South-West. I spoke to him at length and he was in bits over what is going on.”
“As a neutral country, we should stand strong and do our best to make sure the powers that be in Europe are working towards peace and the powers that be in this country, through our ambassadors, should be pushing very strongly for peace. I see a lot of protests outside the House on this issue. I believe in democracy and it is important that people voice their concerns, but the protestors out there should be careful. I have gone out there a few times. I could have been talking in the Chamber for ten or 15 minutes on the issue and the next thing is I go outside and get roared at that I do not speak about anything or any of the issues. That is not the way to bring people with you. You have to respect what they are saying and understand that they are on the same side, the side of peace.”
“Of course, it is a great soundbite, it looks good and people get lots of likes on their social media for coming out with a statement like that but common sense must come into play here. We must do everything in our power to advocate for peace. Every hour of the day, we need to seek to meet the ambassadors. We need to bring them here, talk to them and see if we can advocate for peace. Rather than engage in dramatics, maybe we need to do the ordinary everyday things that bring peace to countries and bring people together. There is some peace in Iran at the moment, which is absolutely needed. I support any peace efforts going on there. Bombing a country, whichever country it is, is not a way forward for peace.”
“We need to be able to talk to the American ambassador and others in this country and sit down around the table, regardless of the occasion, when we get the chance. We will never get peace if we keep roaring. We will only adding to the problem. I will take every opportunity I get, whether it is this week or next week, to meet anyone, anywhere to try to speak about peace and push the US Government, which has a strong influence on Israel, to advocate for peace through that channel. One of the first things I heard was the Social Democrats calling for us to expel the Israeli ambassador. We have Irish citizens over there. I would have serious concerns for the welfare of those citizens if we were to go ahead and jump at that. That shows the immaturity that is out there.”
“That is why every politician in this House should advocate for a peaceful solution. Ireland is a neutral country. I am very much a believer that we should always advocate for peace. I think the Government has been doing the best it can in a very difficult situation because if the EU, which is a stronger body, is unable to do something, how is Ireland going to be a superpower? I listened to different speakers, one of whom mentioned going to meet the US ambassador on 4 July. I would be delighted to meet anyone if it meant bringing peace to the countries that are fighting. This country wants to lead on peace abroad. Shouting over fences and screaming and roaring are not going to deliver.”
“As so many speakers have said, the war and the scenes taking place out there are horrific. Nothing hits an Irish person more than to see millions of young people, or any person, facing starvation. It could not hit a deeper note in the mind of any Irish person because we have had this in our own history. It is something that will never be forgotten in the history of this country and what is happening to the Palestinians now should never be forgotten either. I will not be critical of the Government. We have to be very careful. Much of the Opposition thinks we should shout and roar, expel ambassadors and do all sorts of dramatic things. While that sells to the public, it could have serious implications in the long term. I have concerns that Europe seems to be hand-tied against speaking out more strongly and advocating for peace.”
“We resolved the 88-year-old's situation and my office is frantically trying to resolve that of the 77-year-old. Any help the Minister of State can give would be greatly appreciated. We need to look to the future, which is not happening. The fair deal scheme is an unfair deal for farmers in regard to nursing homes. The promises made here over a number of years are being broken. I have two or three pages on the areas of unfairness. If one is leasing land, one is murdered and caught in a system that is part of the assessment. I know time is tight. I am very passionate about certain areas here. I do not want to tar everyone with the same brush. The community hospitals and nursing homes I know of are running fantastically and are doing great work.”
“We opened 12 of these houses recently. This is a fantastic service and we need to spend more time looking at that. The future is bleak for a person who is elderly. It is bleak right now but what will it be like in ten years’ time? There is no planning here and I said that to the Minister of State. I have not heard of any planning permission from any community hospital or nursing home in the whole of County Cork for an extension of rooms. We need to look at this issue and not have someone like Gus Dempsey at 77 years of age worrying whether he is going to sleep in Ballinspittle on the side of the road, on the street or under a bus shelter. That is a situation we find ourselves in between last week and this week with two different people aged 88 and 77.”
“His neighbour was brilliant and kind but told him his family was coming home and he had to leave by a certain date. The man is in a desperate situation. Will he end up in a nursing home? This is the crisis we have in this country. Our elderly people are being abused one way or another. We have completely taken our eye off the ball in respect of their future and what will happen in this country. If these people become homeless, will they be rammed into a nursing home when they do not need to be in one? They need a home they can call their own. It is a simple thing. I thank all the housing bodies. I am involved in two of them and we have approximately 20 to 25 people housed in 16 houses in Schull and Goleen. They are absolutely thrilled. They have all the services they need at their door. The medical centre is right beside them.”
“I have been on choice-based lettings, CBL, for the past ten weeks and I believe once in ten weeks a couple of houses came up in west Cork. That is an astonishing situation west Cork finds itself in. There are no council houses available. A local housing body - the Government needs to invest money in housing bodies - that had received money from the State and had built a number of houses, thankfully, stepped in and looked after that lovely lady, and deservedly so. The problem is I am in the same situation this week. I am holding up another picture of a 77-year-old man, Gus Dempsey, who asked me to do this. He is homeless as of today. His house burned down six months ago. A neighbour gave him a house to move into but he is now in a situation where he has no home tonight. He does not know if he will have to sleep on the street.”
“One of the most pressing issues is the insufficient provision of home help for individuals transitioning from hospital care. This shortage often results in elderly patients being placed in nursing homes. By significantly increasing home help services, we can reduce the necessity for sending our elderly population to nursing homes, thereby allowing them to remain in the comfort of their own homes. Last week in the Dáil, we in Independent Ireland brought forward a motion with 23 points on how to fix the housing crisis. While making my contribution on it, I showed those in the Chamber a picture of Jennifer Marley who is 88 years of age. She was becoming homeless. She had no home. Her next move, unfortunately, was to a nursing home. She did not need a nursing home as she lived independently. There is no social housing in west Cork.”
“Unfortunately, I am hearing of private companies being brought in because staff cannot be found as they are walking away. They were willing to stay had they been allowed to work rather than going home to spend an hour tapping on a tablet or on a computer, sorting things out. Their work was on the ground; delivering for and looking after people. That is the area the Minister of State needs to return to as well as carers and the means tests. They are important areas. The recent increase in the means test for carers is a positive step. It is imperative that the means test is completely abolished to better support families to care for their elderly parents at home. Additionally, there is a critical need to expand the availability of home help services.”
“It could have taken pressure off nursing homes in west Cork. Dementia units are also badly needed. We need to invest and ensure there are more carers and that there is not a means test for carers. We need to invest in home help. However, the biggest problem I have with home help, which keeps people at home - we do not need people going into nursing homes every day of the week - is many of the older home helps are walking away. They were fantastic and mainly women. The problem is they have to carry around tablets and computers to do their job. That is not what they should be doing. They should be in the house looking after the patient. Unfortunately, it has gone to another level which they might not be capable of reaching but they certainly were the world’s best at looking after the elderly person in the home.”
“The State must have a mechanism to step in, as outlined in the motion, and to take over the running of a nursing home if it is badly run or someone has been found guilty of serious infringements. That is the road we must travel. It did not happen in Belgooley and the patients were herded out like cattle. They were shoved everywhere and anywhere. There was no respect shown. They were told a nursing home would be found and that if they did not take it, they should be taken home. That is not good enough. We need to wake up and understand how to respect our elderly. If the State had stepped in and put the money into that nursing home that it needed, and that the owners did not seem to have or did not want to invest - I did not know what was going on there - it could have taken up to 80 people.”
“I also talk about Aperee Living nursing home, which had serious issues some two years ago. We lost the facility in Belgooley. At that time, I said in the Dáil that the nursing home in Belgooley should be taken over by the State because there were enough people in need of a nursing home. One can imagine old people losing their nursing home and having the living daylights frightened out of them, yet nobody stepped in. The nursing home was let go. It was the same with Aperee Living in Bantry and the nursing homes in Conna in Fermoy and in the Mallow area. They all went into liquidation. People are living in fear that they are going to lose their home, which is basically what can happen.”
“When I ring to inquire about bringing in a patient I am told, for example, that 15 or 20 people are on the waiting list and the person does not have a hope of getting in there. They might pass away before they get the chance. One stunning hospital we have is in Schull. I would be delighted if the Minister were to get a chance to come and see it because it is a perfect example of what a community hospital should be. In fairness, there are other similar places throughout the country. The hospital has 21 beds. As far as I know, there were 21 beds there 100 years ago. Something has got to change. Somebody must have the vision to say the hospital in Schull and in other places need an extension of 25 or 30 beds, so that people will have a home if they need it. That is a very big issue for me.”
“If HIQA walks in the door and improvements have to be made, they are funded by the State. The situation with nursing homes is that if HIQA walks in the door and says improvements must be made, the funding must come out of their coffers. I am very seriously concerned because while nursing home staff and management are doing everything they can to make sure everything is right, it is impossible to do that if the budget is tightened beyond belief. That is the situation here and the Government have let things slip. I also have very serious concerns about care of the elderly going forward as the elderly population is rising. I know a lot of the hospitals in my constituency, and I never heard of an extension being proposed for any one of them.”
“I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this very important motion today. I am sure there is not one person in the Dáil who saw the documentary who was not disgusted by the way our elderly were being treated. If big businesses are treating our elderly in such a terrible way, we must ensure we do all we can so that this does not continue. That said, we cannot tar everybody with the one brush because there are some great nursing homes. We must make sure the bad are weeded out but the good are secured and looked after. I meet Tadhg Daly from Nursing Homes Ireland fairly often and we discuss the lack of funding. I have gone to a lot of nursing homes. They tell me straight that there is a massive lack of funding. We all know the great community hospitals that are out there that are funded to within an inch of their lives.”
“Independent Ireland welcomes the recommendation on how inclusive education should be progressively realised but let us be honest, we are not there yet. Rapid expansion of special classes, mostly for autism, has been a stopgap but not a long-term strategy. We cannot let inclusion become just another buzzword. It has to mean something real and that mainstream schools are properly resourced, teachers properly trained and therapies delivered on time.”
“They were very impressed with the school's vision for a school-based occupational therapy service, which will allow occupational therapy students to complete practice education placements and provide a support for the staff and students of the school to benefit from an innovative school-based model. However, in order to establish this project, the school will require funding for the practice tutor role. This costs approximately €20,000 per annum, which is minimal when considering the huge benefits to the occupational therapy students, children and staff in Newcestown. This could become a blueprint for rolling out at national level. I ask the Government to please engage with the school on this particular subject, and I will send the Minister of State the details.”
“Instead, the special needs team, led by Mr. Nicholas McCarthy, deputy principal, must navigate a complex web of service providers, including primary care, children's disability network teams and private practitioners, to gain access to appropriate supports for children. The Newcestown school is collaborating with University College Cork and trying to secure on-site supports for pupils with special additional and complex needs. University College Cork offers a four-year undergraduate bachelor of science honours programme in occupational therapy. A core part of the four-year programme is 1,000 hours of supervised occupational therapy practice education for placement hours. The head of UCC's department of occupational science and occupational therapy, along with the practice education co-ordinator, visited the school on 4 April 2025.”
“Near my constituency, the Bishop Galvin Central School in Newcestown, Bandon, County Cork, is well known and highly respected for its commitment to all of its pupils in providing a welcoming and inclusive educational experience for children with additional needs. The school has a current enrolment of 230. An ASD special class was opened in September 2021 and six pupils are currently enrolled. A second ASD class will open in September 2025. Over 30% of pupils in the school receive some form of support for special or additional needs and almost 15% of the pupils have diagnoses and recommendations from registered occupational therapists. Many are awaiting services. Despite a growing number of children with complex functional challenges, the school does not have access to on-site occupational therapy services.”
“We have Michael in Clonakilty waiting seven years for an assessment of need, and he is still waiting. We have another young lad in Dunmanway waiting eight years for an assessment of need. His older brother, who is 12, was diagnosed with autism at two and a half. That was ten years ago. It is highly likely that this young lad also has autism but he is still waiting. We have a young lady aged 19 who was diagnosed with autism at two years of age but her family has had to fight for any services she got. It was recommended that she have speech and language therapy and occupational therapy over the years but she got very little. She fell behind academically as a result and is now being refused disability allowance. They are only three cases but there are thousands more.”
“I agree completely with the line in the report that says simply commencing the Act as it stands is not enough. We need a system that works, is practical and rights-based and is centred on the needs of the child, not the convenience of the system. It is time to reduce the paperwork and red tape choking our schools. The teachers of Ireland did not stand up to spend their days filling out forms and chasing signatures. They want to teach and support every child, not just those who shout the loudest. The report rightly demands a stronger voice for children and families in planning their education. We echo that call. Parents must be heard. Children must be seen not as burdens, but as citizens with rights. We as politicians see this daily in our clinics - parents fighting for every little thing.”
“We in Independent Ireland stand firmly behind the implementation of the EPSEN review report recommendations. The time has come for long overdue justice for our children with additional needs. We have seen two decades of delay since the EPSEN Act was passed in 2004, yet here we are with the core rights promised in law, like individual education plans and proper assessments, still unfulfilled. This is not just a legal technicality. It is a moral failing. It means thousands of families are still waiting for timely diagnoses, proper supports and an education system that recognises every child's potential. The EPSEN review has laid out a clear and measured path. It tells us what parents, educators and, most of all, children have been saying for years. The current system is overstretched, overly bureaucratic and underdelivered.”
“Without adequate investment, Bere Island, Dursey Island and Whiddy Island face further depopulation and loss of culture and sustainable business and tourism projects. Will the Government reconsider the funding allocation to better support the Bere Island Projects Group and ensure parity with other islands?”
“Island funding is crucial for many of our islands but its distribution needs closer scrutiny. The Bere Island Projects Group, which covers Bere Island, Whiddy Island and Dursey Island, has three full-time staff and must manage office, utilities and running costs from a budget that saw only a 2.1% increase. This is insufficient for standard cost-of-living requirements, in comparison to smaller islands like Inishturk and Inishbofin which received much higher increases of 28.4% and 16.6%, respectively, despite Bere Island having approximately 100 more residents than Clare Island, which received a 23% increase. We do not begrudge these islands the extra funding they get, as all non-Gaeltacht islands face sustainability challenges. Bere Island simply asks for parity with other islands.”
“We need to have statements today on higher education, especially on the confusion regarding fees. Since the announcement, a lot of parents have told me that they are having discussions around their tables about whether their child will go to college and whether they can afford to send the child to college or not. That is not a discussion that families should have. Our children and young people want to educate themselves. We need to have statements in this House. I have been asking for statements on education regarding class sizes and capitation grants at primary level, but this relates to higher level.”
“Is Laya Healthcare, in its refusal to cover the cost of pembro, mis-selling its schemes by not telling current and potential members that they do not have cover? By doing this, Laya Healthcare is selling comprehensive healthcare products, but when you pay Laya and need a product, it is refused to you, scamming innocent people. Healthcare insurance companies are regulated by the Health Insurance Authority, which is under the Central Bank. How, if properly regulated, has Laya been allowed scam the innocent public?”
“Laya Healthcare provides many different levels of private health insurance. One of my constituents purchased one of its plans at a substantial cost of €1,470 per year. Regarding cancer care, the policy clearly stated that it covers treatment to stop the spread of cancer and, where possible, to remove it entirely. All of the company's schemes have comprehensive cancer cover and best in class approach advertised. Despite all this they refused to cover pembro, as it is commonly known. Pembro is a recommended cancer treatment by the European Medicines Agency and is now part of the comprehensive treatment plan and prescribed by consultants who specialise in cancer treatment. Laya Healthcare, in refusing to cover the cost of pembro, is questioning the European Medicines Agency.”
“If the Government does not support the motion we are putting forward, which is for the general good to try to turn this around, it shows me that more people will be added to that list.”
“There is no Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, to be found anywhere. My God, if it was a farmer doing that, he would be put out of business within hours. Yesterday, I spoke at length about a lady in Bantry, Jennifer Marley, who is 88 years of age. She is going to be without a home in the next number of weeks. Can anyone imagine the stress that woman is going through at 88 years of age trying to find a simple, basic home to call her own? She does not mind who owns it. She has been asked to leave the house she lives in. There are others such as an 82-year-old person from Dunmanway, an 80-year-old in Bantry, a 74-year-old in Timoleague and in Bandon two people, aged 60 and 70 years old, every one of whom deserves the respect to have a home.”
“Additionally, we will create a 30-day cost-recovery mechanism paid at 95% to provide social housing refurbishment. This will incentivise quick turnaround and utilisation of existing housing stock. Our motion also advocates for publishing an Uisce Éireann delivery schedule, with additional funding for timely completion, and funding water and sewerage schemes via local community groups where Uisce Éireann does not provide the service. Uisce Éireann is an uncontrollable train and the Government has stood idly by and allowed that to happen. I look at places like Dunmanway, which may not have a sewerage system or build a house for the next ten, 15 or 20 years - we do not know. It is the same in Ballydehob, Shannonvale, Goleen and Rosscarbery. They have been waiting for 25 years while raw sewage pours into the sea.”
“It is absolutely mad to think a man in Donegal can object to a planning proposal on Mizen Head. We want to fast-track construction apprenticeships for modular dual delivery and expand access to skills training in regions with low construction output. This is not rocket science; it is basic stuff. Local authorities' CEO contracts should be tied to performance on housing delivery. Make them accountable. Make everybody accountable. We want to introduce performance-linked funding for local authorities based on delivery metrics. High-performing councils should be rewarded with bonuses and public recognition, while accountability would be required from the underperforming ones. To further support construction, we propose a temporary reduction of VAT on housing construction materials to 5%.”
“God help us if there is more than one daughter or son in a family. The Government must think people should have only one child, like a Chinese family. We are proposing that standardised housing designs be permitted to speed up planning while complying with regulations. We want to expand planning exemptions for modular homes and conversions of up to 63 sq. m. Day after day, we are here in the Dáil constantly speaking on housing and homelessness, with more than 15,000 people homeless. This is a very simple solution, to allow people with a bit of extra land to put a modular home on their property without all of the planning red tape. If we are serious about stopping this crisis we are in, this is a huge way to plug it. Planning objections should be restricted to those with local concerns to curb serial objectors.”