Niall Blaney
Agricultural Panel · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I particularly acknowledge Daniel and Jordan Coyle from Derry and international event rider, Susie Berry, from Down, who were all nominated in the world championships, as well as Jessica Kürten from Antrim, who leads a high-performance jumping programme.”
“Many of our national secondary routes have a lower annual average of daily traffic than some of our regional routes. I ask that we examine the top five or ten routes. The local authorities have the daily traffic data for all of these other regional routes.”
“I welcome the Minister of State. I will address a few of the issues raised by other speakers, although perhaps not the last one, because I did not hear any ideas in that speech. I very much welcome the national planning strategy and what is contained in this Bill.”
“When we go to an architect or engineer and ask them to design a new house to build, we trust the architect or engineer to design the house. More recently, we have given them powers to ensure that vision lines are sufficient.”
“Many of those workers are from rural Ireland. Many of those workers are in the GAA. If we really want to support rural Ireland, we need to get real about what we need to support and want to support. There are two issues that I want to address with the Minister of State in the short time that I have.”
“I want to refer to the work of Horse Sport Ireland and to wish Team Ireland every success as it prepares for the world championships in Aachen, Germany, which commence on 11 August. Horse Sport Ireland is the national governing body for equestrian sport.”
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“With that in mind, I will go further and ask that all representatives, particularly the two in Donegal, Deputies Doherty and Mac Lochlainn, who have been silent about this since the last court case, and the Cavan-Monaghan Sinn Féin representatives be vocal about this project, ensure they are all over it with the minister, Liz Kimmins, and show their voices are behind it. If they do not do so on this occasion, we will be vociferous about it. We will have our voices heard. This is the time to get this project right. According to the office of the minister, Andrew Muir MLA, the legislation does not need to be changed. His office is meeting regularly at the moment with the office of the minister, Liz Kimmins, and I believe the power to address the challenges relating to climate change and the A5 project lies with her. It has to be put right.”
“I rise this morning to raise a matter that is important for me and for many Members from the north west. It is the N2 and A5 road and specifically the A5. That project was thrown out in a recent court case and is due back in court in the next few weeks. It is important that we work collectively on this project to ensure we get it right this time. I ask my colleagues in Sinn Féin to do everything they can. The Northern Ireland minister, Liz Kimmins, has the wherewithal to do the necessary. I ask the Leader that the Seanad write to her to offer our support as well as to the Minister for Transport, Deputy O'Brien, to ask him to work in co-operation as best he can on this vital project for the north west, for which many organisations such as IDA Ireland and other organisations and companies have been crying out for decades.”
“The Minister of State will not have the answer to my next question, which relates to something that is on my mind. People blame cancers on lots of things. We all love open fires but we do not realise the damage being caused by the carbon in the atmosphere arising from burning logs, coal or even turf. Lots of people long for the smell of turf but we have no real detail on the consequences of all this burning. I commend the Bill to the House.”
“The other consideration that one of my colleagues mentioned to me a while ago related to simple things like issuing a directive to bus drivers to switch off their engines when they pull up at a school. The Minister of State spoke about haulage. All new cars, or maybe just those that are not electric, are fitted with a mechanism that switches off the engine when idle. Maybe these are the smarter things that we could and should be doing because traffic that is not moving causes many emissions. The cross-border stuff will also be important. Is there a balance to be struck here from the point of view of homes and retrofitting? Should the Government do more on new air-to-water energy systems, which do not have a fossil fuel requirement? Should it help more to try to bring an end to all this burning?”
“I am not sure how stringent they are on air quality but in relation to climate change, it is imperative that whatever is happening on the island, we try to align as best as possible. Will the Minister of State comment on that? We have obligations to meet the EU level by 2030, which is only right. At the end of the day, when you consider some of the other superpowers and the difficulties they have with air quality, we are certainly not in that ballpark at all. Air quality is important. Carbon monoxide is a silent killer. There is a need for much more education around that. From that perspective, are we considering programmes or advertisements on TV or other media in relation to this? I would guesstimate that the vast majority of people do not realise the dangers that are out there.”
“I have a few questions for the Minister of State. The Minister of State is right to point out there is so much solid fuel burning going on but as someone who lives on the Border, I wonder what measures are included in relation to cross-Border operators. What ability will there be for anyone policing this to stop operators from Derry, Tyrone or Fermanagh selling in Donegal, for example? What is the deterrent? Will they have powers to seize their vehicles to stop that? I know an awful lot of that goes on at the moment. It is not just in Donegal; a lot of those operators sell much further south. What is being done on a cross-Border basis with counterparts in Stormont to have an all-island approach? The recent A5 saga showed some of the new laws brought in in Northern Ireland are quite stringent.”
“I did not realise there were that many premature deaths in the country. We as public representatives have to take this very seriously. We are all aware of what a death brings to a family when someone is lost on the roads. The pain is no easier when someone loses a loved one as a result of premature death related to poor air quality. The legislation is very welcome. As someone who lives in rural Ireland, I am still very much aware of the transition in the past number of years from coal to the new processed products on the market now. You realise it when you pass a house with a fire on. Growing up with coal, you knew the smoke was there and the stench, but whatever it is about these products today, the stench and smoke seem to be on a whole other level. This Bill is very pertinent from that perspective.”
“I thank the Minister of State for presenting the Air Pollution (Amendment) Bill 2025 to the House. I categorically make it clear that Fianna Fáil Senators welcome this debate and support the Bill. It is true to say that Ireland is currently not in exceedance of any legal requirements for air quality levels but as the Minister of State said, we can always do better. As the start of his presentation, the Minister of State made a very stark comment in relation to the amount of premature deaths on the island in a year. He put it in terms of the lives we lose on the road. Compared to air pollution and premature deaths in Ireland each year linked directly to poor air quality, it equals ten times the number of road deaths. One can imagine the outcry on this island if there were 1,700 road deaths in a year. That really brings this home.”
“In Donegal, I do not get a chance to take coffee on a train - I take a coffee in my car at the local petrol station - but I look forward to the day that I do. Connecting Donegal is not that difficult. There are three avenues. Outside the Down connection, there is also the avenue we used to go by, down by Dungannon, and also a connection via Sligo. One of the picturesque old photographs still around is of the Barnesmore Gap. The old train used to go there and there are sill photographs of it here and there. I heard what somebody said about upping tourism. It would be a great advantage to the Wild Atlantic Way to have a better rail service in the west.”
“Given that we have lost out so much since the 1960s, particularly in relation to rail, I would have thought more emphasis would be put on the rail review being front-loaded and bringing the areas that were deprived up to speed with the rest, as other Members have talked about. I ask the Minister of State to go back and have a review of our strategy. Moreover, I would like to see the rail review actually set out a programme of events whereby we timeline these projects, as TII does for roadway projects. Until we get there, we are not really going to know where we are with any drive for rail or with when our projects are going to start and finish. It has to happen. All of those projects have to be laid out.”
“I listened to my colleague talking earlier about looking to have money for a business case analysis. We do not want and do not need a business case. We have been kicked down the road far enough. We have the population. The connectivity from Letterkenny to Derry is in the review. We need to get things moving now. Currently, the rail journey from Derry to Belfast takes 2.5 hours. You would not need a massive spend on the existing rail line to get it up to a decent standard. A smart approach would be to look at that sooner rather than later. We are finding it hard to catch up in the west and the north west.”
“What role does the Minister for Infrastructure in Northern Ireland now play in the all-island rail review and in these projects? I have concerns on a number of fronts. Back in 2000 when the first national development plan was announced for road motorways, we were left out at a time when there was the same daily traffic at the halfway point between Dublin and Donegal in Omagh as the Galway-Dublin route had. The latter has its motorway now but we are still fighting. I heard a Sinn Féin representative talking about the Sinn Féin vision. The Sinn Féin vision has left us, now for the second time, without the ability to go ahead with the A5. I wonder what impact, or what role the Northern Ireland minister, has and how much the North is pushing the Belfast-Derry route. City status has now been given to the region.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is welcome to the House. I thank him very much for outlining the plans thus far in relation to all-island rail projects. We have had statements in the House numerous times, certainly during the last term, where the all-island rail review was talked about. In particular, I remember when the former Minister, Eamon Ryan, was here. We were pushing hard to have it published. The Northern Ireland minister, Ms Nichola Mallon, was a great advocate for the Belfast-Derry link, given the massive population between those two cities and the substandard level of rail there at the moment. In fairness to then Minister, Eamon Ryan, he wanted to hold back the rail review until a new minister was in place once Ms Mallon stood down.”
“This is another incentive, along with many others the Government is developing and evolving to ensure that people get into the market. It is a very smart initiative. It is in line with what other countries are doing. I commend the Bill to the House and thank the Minister of State for his work.”
“Either way, the contribution was reckless. Moreover, this idea that the downsizing of apartments is also in relation to conditions, whether it be in relation to ensuring that developments meet standards or in relation to fire safety in any aspect of a building, is first and foremost a load of nonsense. Second, there is some belief that because the standards are dropped, every apartment in the country has to go to that size. It does not. What we are actually doing here is ensuring that people who cannot afford apartments of today actually get into the market. This is about ensuring those who cannot afford to get into the market, and continuing with that mantra is actually keeping those lesser people in society out of the housing market.”
“The Minister of State is very welcome. I commend the ongoing efforts at the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage, with the senior Minister and the Ministers of State. I find it laughable to hear some of the comments from the Opposition, particularly the previous speaker, in relation to developers. Who are we going to depend on to build these houses that we all so badly need? They are constantly put down. No other part of society would accept it. I never heard one solution from any of them. This idea that developers took 40% of those cases against the Department and the State and that it was all down to greed, there is absolutely no basis for it and the remark should be withdrawn. It was a disgraceful remark.”
“It is not that big of a stretch to have connectivity from Derry and back into Letterkenny in Donegal to bring rail services back to the county. This would give the whole north west connectivity to Belfast city, Newry, Dublin and all the other cities across the country, accommodating and adding to the all-island economy. I would welcome the Minister of State taking this back to the Department of Transport to see if it can be looked into.”
“People talk about the opportunity for balanced regional development but we certainly have not received that for many decades in the west and north west, and this situation will now prolong that situation. Some of those who portray themselves and act as though they want to see development are of the very party opposing it. It is disgraceful manoeuvring by Sinn Féin. I would like to see what our Government can do to rescue the situation because it is in need of rescuing. With regard to rail, the House will know there is no connectivity in Donegal. The cheapest and smartest option for connectivity in Donegal, in the short term and in line with the all-island rail review, would be the upgrade of the Belfast-Derry route. This currently takes two to two and half hours of travel time. The shared island fund should be used for this .”
“It is telling that Pearse Doherty made a statement in the Dáil last week in which he lectured the Government on the need to spend more on rail but did not even mention the A5, which affects all of us in the north west because we have to cross the Border along the way. It is despicable what is happening in Northern Ireland. It is time there was an approach at Government level with the UK Government. There is an awful lot of incompetence going on at present and a lack of accountability regarding our ministers in Stormont and their officials. The result of this is the A5 will be put back at least two or three years. Some of the rail Deputy Doherty called for on a cross-Border basis will also likely be pushed back to the same degree. This will leave us further behind and with fewer opportunities for development.”
“They instead pulled out of Stormont in 2016 on the back of an Irish Act that still has not been delivered and no one has put any beef on the bone on this. We are now in a situation where, a little over a year ago, Sinn Féin called for the Government to provide funds for the A5. The Government has done that and it is very welcome but now, but this is a result of the incompetence of Sinn Féin and its ministers in Northern Ireland. I say "its ministers" because John O'Dowd must take more responsibility for this than the current minister, given that John O'Dowd is the man who signed off on it, knowing his own policy had been in place since 2022. It is telling that no Sinn Féin representatives are in the House today.”
“I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, back to the Seanad. I am delighted to see him being recognised for his Trojan work over the years, with him now being a Minister of State. I wish him well in his term. I wish to raise the issue of the A5. All of today's discussion has been around bus and rail - I will come back to the rail aspect in a bit - but following the national development plan roll-out post 2000, the one route left out was the A5. There has been much lobbying over the years and I have constantly been on this since the year 2000. Eventually, Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair put money in place in 2007 and I remember being told by my two Oireachtas colleagues in Donegal in 2014 not to worry because the then minister, Conor Murphy, was in charge and this would be delivered.”
“While marinas are seen to be very expensive to develop, we can float offshore wind, and I come at this as someone with an engineering background, so there has to be a simpler and less expensive way of floating marinas in our harbours, where there is much less tidal difficulty to deal with. There have to be better solutions than those currently available. I wish the Minister of State well. He faces many difficulties but we have every trust in him. We are aware of his work ethic and we will support him to the best of our ability.”
“I remember back in the days when I was a young councillor - and the Minister of State may have served with us at the time - that the former Minister of State, Hugh Byrne, had an exceptional fund which was used to great effect in rock-armouring a lot of the coastal erosion. We have moved away from that, and it is a sad day because a lot of our coastline has been destroyed as a result of erosion. We cannot hold back the tide without proper rock-armouring. The other area we could do more on relates to the tourism end and development of marinas. Anywhere marinas have been developed over the years, it has brought tourism onto a completely different level.”
“We need to continue to support the sustainable development of our aquaculture sector and modernise and streamline aquaculture licensing in the State through legislative changes. The previous Government did a good bit of work on that. I know that many extra staff have been put in the different sections to help streamline those applications. We need to set up a maritime regeneration, development and conservation fund, which will support harbours, marinas and tourism development as well as actions to address coastal erosion. My county is a little bit like the Minister of State's in that coastal erosion is quite an issue.”
“We need to defend Irish fishing interests ahead of the 2026 review of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement and in discussions on third countries, work at EU level to increase supports to the European Maritime, Fisheries and Aquaculture Fund, and ensure the promotion of marine education courses and degree programmes with a view to increasing enrolments. That also applies to offshore renewables and the potential for fishers to evolve into that field. We need to ensure the diversification of coastal economies and establish new openings beyond traditional industries support coastal communities towards benefiting from the development of offshore renewable projects, and review and strengthen conservation measures for marine ecosystems and wildlife. We will also expand marine protected areas and establish wildlife sanctuaries.”
“It is really important that all of this island now gets the opportunities to explore and develop our offshore wind potential, particularly as regards the north west. I am informed that off the north-west coast is deemed the second most powerful potential site in the world. It is really important, as regards the ESB and the potential to carry any new power coming in from those sites, that plans are in place to ensure we have sufficient capacity in the network to carry that power. I know that is outside the Minister of State's brief, but his work in that regard would be a waste of time if those plans were not now put in place.”
“We need to liaise with fishing stakeholders - I know the Minister of State has started off well in doing this - and request that Revenue examine the current tax allowances for the sector and bring forward recommendations on how the taxation system can further support its progression. We need to explore fleet adjustment measures and consider any changes, given the ever-evolving scientific advice on fish stocks, and support the seafood and offshore renewable energy working group in providing an important bridge to facilitate discussion on issues arising from the interaction of these sectors, and encourage open dialogue between stakeholders. That is a part of the brief that was not big on the agenda for a Minister in the past.”
“We also committed to continue to support and promote investments in fisheries and aquaculture and examine incentives for fishers to land their catch in Irish ports, with a view to supporting the domestic processing sector. Again, we keep in mind the inshore fishers. A fight is needed at EU level for Common Fisheries Policy reforms to ensure fairer quotas for Irish fishers and due recognition to be given to the proportion of fish species caught in Irish waters. We need to promote the sustainability of fish stocks while ensuring sufficient supply of species to allow fishers into the future to derive a fair return.”
“He allocated €27.75 million for capital projects in the State-owned fishery harbour centres at Killybegs, Ros an Mhíl, An Daingean, Castletownbere, Dunmore East and Howth. The Minister of State launched the €15 million fisheries local action groups coastal communities development scheme 2025–2029, to support coastal areas' economic development. He also opened the small craft harbour building at Ros an Mhíl. This is all very welcome, but it is clear there is a lot more to do. As far as the programme for Government commitments are concerned, we were successful in getting a Minister of State with responsibility for fisheries. We committed to the publishing of a five-year fisheries sector strategy that will include an examination of the processing sector.”
“It is important to keep in the back of our minds the difficulties faced by the inshore fishermen and their quota levels. Importantly, as promised in Fianna Fáil's 2024 general election manifesto, we have re-established the role of the Minister of State for fisheries and the marine. We know the Minister of State is working to support our fisheries and aquaculture sectors and to balance the need for economic development with environmental protection to bring about a sustainable and prosperous future for all our coastal communities. As the Minister of State rightly said, Brexit has been a difficult time for our fishermen. A lot of progress has been made. The Minister of State has allocated €4.33 million for 57 local authority projects across 11 coastal local authorities.”
“That is why, since re-entering Government in 2020, through the Minister of State and the previous Minister, Deputy McConalogue, we have invested more than €180 million in the seafood sector and €50 million in local piers and harbours. Those moneys have been very well spent. I can vouch for the moneys that were spent in County Donegal. Rathmullan was recently opened. That pier needed works for many years and even decades, and it was similarly with the one beside me in Portsalon. Those moneys were very welcome and useful. During the previous Government term, Fianna Fáil advocated successfully for a full re-evaluation of the Common Fisheries Policy. In this term, it is important we continue to stand up for fisheries in quota negotiations to return the maximum yield while maintaining stock levels according to the latest scientific evidence.”
“I wish to be associated with the welcome to the Clonakilty women's shed group and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, in his new role. It is clear that he is hitting the ground running. I welcome his officials. I will address what the Minister of State finished on relating to the new fisheries EU-UK agreement and that 12-year extension. Fianna Fáil welcomes that agreement. The party also welcomes these statements on this important sector. Ireland's waters are one of the most valuable natural resources. We have a coastline of 7,500 km, making it one of the longest in the European Union. It is something that the EU needs to be reminded of now and again. Fianna Fáil deeply values the role of fisheries in our economy and in the communities which rely on this activity for their livelihood.”
“If someone wants to develop or extend a factory and create more jobs, this result has consequences for a planning application. With the consequences of the decision in mind, I ask the Leader to discuss the issue with the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Transport. I ask that one of them comes to the House as soon as possible. There needs to be an intervention at an Irish Government and UK Government level to try to rescue the situation. I believe that emergency legislation is required in Northern Ireland to rescue the situation. Input is necessary at that level. I ask the Leader to do what he can to move the wheels.”
“I rise today to raise the decision in recent days on the A5. For us in the north west, it is not just the A5 but is also the N2. The decision by a judge in the Belfast courts has hit the headlines in recent days. It is shocking news for many of us. The first time we had a shock in relation to this was when funding was first put in place for it. The Executive was pulled down in 2016 over an Irish Bill that still has not been passed. There was no beef on the bone. We now have an incompetent Minister who could not take into cognisance a report passed in recent weeks relating to the A5. It is incompetence of the highest order. The decision has serious consequences not just for the A5 but for any future infrastructural projects.”
“We need to ensure we have our psychologists and counsellors and all those people out there who are working as specialists. Someone mentioned mechanics. For those who are working on their own, in their own specialised, qualified area, we need to ensure that they are protected because at the moment they are not and many of them are struggling. Many are questioning why they have gone down a certain road, putting so much time and effort into their business but being left behind while others are getting incentives, budget after budget. I ask the Minister of State to put an emphasis on the area of sole traders because they are in special need.”
“The paltry tax allowance they have does not in any way recognise what they contribute to society. The Government really needs to look at this area, because the sole trader in this country plays a key role in many of those small and medium enterprises to ensure they keep going in business. We need to go back to the drawing board in relation to those sole traders. The country is crying out for many different services within the healthcare setting. As we know, many schools are crying out for more psychologists and psychology reports but we are not incentivising people to take up specialty roles on a private basis. They are not taking those roles and are more inclined to go into the private sector or some kind of a business setting. They are a critical part of our society. We need to incentivise sole traders.”
“I thank the Minister of State for coming here today and wish her the best of luck in her new role. I have no doubt that she will do more than well. I am also delighted to see her mum here. She is keeping a close eye, I am sure, full of pride sitting up behind there. I commend my colleague Senator Ollie Crowe on bringing forward this timely motion. I support the vast majority of what has been said about the supports and the lack of supports for SMEs. I want to focus on sole traders. Sole traders are the backbone of many businesses, such as a local shop that depends on the sole trader to deliver its specialised goods. During Covid, many healthcare professionals such as counsellors and psychologists got no supports. Time on time, budget after budget, year on year, they do not get any change as each budget goes by.”
“I think it is only right it be funded to ensure the wild Atlantic way, the causeway coast and the ancient east are all joined up and marketed as one. Moreover, there is a lot of expectation on the Minister's shoulders, but we have real needs and I am delighted he is at the table. It is fitting that he is, because he is an able Minister, and we look forward to working with him.”
“With whatever wind energy sites we have in Donegal and the turbine in Ballyshannon, 23 hours of what is produced every day is dumped because we do not have the capacity to carry it to the south. EirGrid's plans for the north west and our region are completely inadequate. We are sitting on the second most opportunistic site off our coastline for offshore wind. If EirGrid and the Government do not get themselves together on this, we will miss out massively. We cannot afford and cannot accept EirGrid and the Government not to step up and give us the opportunities the other sites across the country are getting. That is a demand we need to have, and it needs to be delivered on. Tourism Ireland was set up after the Good Friday Agreement.”
“The Ten-T planning process is well under way, and I look forward to that getting to tender within the next 15 months. With regard to rail, I do not have to tell the Minister we have no rail. It is imperative that a plan be put in place for the all-Ireland rail strategy. Even if it is 40 years down the road, a plan has to be put in place. We need to think ahead in that regard, and there has to be joined-up thinking. Derry has to be joined by Donegal, and Donegal with the west coast. There has to be an all-Ireland strategy with regard to rail. The potential for offshore floating wind in the north west has not been realised. This is a point I want to drive home very strongly today.”
“On the back of all that, we are then trying to attract consultants with new positions made vacant. That is hard going when hospitals are not properly funded and the types of services we should have are not there yet. The Minister is aware that national primary routes still need to be delivered in our region. I am delighted the A5 has got €600 million from the Government. I look forward to the court case in Northern Ireland coming to a successful conclusion. I know there is the possibility of an appeal there, but at least that appeal will only be for a six-week period. That is a really important strategic route for us in the north west. The N2 is another piece that TII needs to do a lot more work on. That is the southern end, and they are well behind in planning and need to move it on.”
“However, it is fair to say we are not getting our fair share, particularly in relation to the east and the midland region, but also to the southern region. It is time we got our fair share. It is time the national development plan became balanced. It is not just about balancing at this stage. It is about positive discrimination, as well as catching up. In our region we have one of the highest percentages of those with a degree. We are the highest in the country, but universally we are right up there. We have to start getting our fair share when it comes to universities, and similarly with regard to health. Many of the hospitals in our regions are doing more with fewer funds but are scrapping to keep services going and to catch up with waiting lists.”
“I too welcome the Minister to the House and wish him well in his portfolio. It is appropriate that we are discussing balanced regional development because the Minister is well-equipped to know about balanced regional development and what we in the western and northern and midland regions are missing. Like others, I was at the Northern and Western Regional Assembly presentation last week. Many Members have alluded to the fact that there is a population of almost 1 million over there, including 500,000 workers, but there is still slightly higher unemployment than in the rest of the country. I will come back to that fact. I have many percentages written down here, with regard to population, tenders, etc. and what we are missing out on. Those figures have been given out and I will not go over them again.”
“On the day of their screening, when this realisation takes place, a further investigation should take place there and then because some patients are waiting far too long. It would be remiss of me not to mention to the Minister the surgical hub for Donegal. We will chat to her further outside of the Chamber, but there will be much noise about the fact that Donegal has not been selected as one of the areas for a surgical hub by the HSE. We are not too happy with how we have been treated by HSE senior personnel. We will talk to the Minister later in that regard. We in Donegal cannot be left behind. We are entitled to the same rights as the rest of the country. That is all we are asking for. I thank the Minister for her time.”
“The Minister is welcome. I thank her for staying for the whole debate. I am certainly no expert when it comes to breast cancer diagnosis, but I have been lobbied by people in my constituency, and one in particular in County Donegal who is part of Lobular Ireland. Senator Costello and others discussed breast density. What Lobular Ireland is calling for is the introduction of standardised mandatory breast density reporting for all women who have mammograms. It is saying that software is available, and I am told it is working well in other screening jurisdictions. I have no doubt that AI will play its part in this process, but I hope sooner rather than later. I concur with Senator Costello on the early detection of younger women. It is imperative that younger women who have symptoms be looked at sooner.”
“It is important that there are calm heads and that we reach out with all arms, not just across the EU, but to the United States. That is using all mechanisms of these Houses. I am glad the shenanigans in the Lower House have stopped this week because committees are now so important when it comes to issues like this. It is important that we get the committees of the Houses operational and, where we can, use them to lobby in our interests and to look after all the interests of our businesspeople across the island.”
“Moreover, great opportunity exists in Northern Ireland, particularly in the work of the shared island unit, including the different research that is going on and the collation of that work. Many in Northern Ireland are waiting to see where Ireland goes next with the shared island, how we try to tackle an all-island economy and make it better and, moreover, how we create a future for all people on this island, North and South, to move forward, recognising the North-South relationship but also recognising, for many, the east-west relationship. It is important that we do not lose focus on Northern Ireland, because it would be easy to lose focus given where things are. I am delighted with the opportunity to discuss this issue this morning. I am also delighted with the approach.”
“Our strength is in that negotiating power with our colleagues in the US. I am not one to jump to conclusions about how we need to support businesses. We know we are coming from a position of strength, but let us not jump to conclusions too quickly until we assess where we are at and where things are at. It would be remiss of me if I were not to mention Northern Ireland. While there is so much going on in the world, with the added consequences of these tariffs, it is very important we do not lose focus on the relationships in Northern Ireland and, by extension, the east-west relationships. In particular, we should reflect on how those relationships have been damaged since Brexit was first mentioned and brought into the era post 2016. We still have a job to do rebuilding those relations.”
“Senator O'Reilly is right. The mid-term elections in the United States are not too far away. There will be a full election to the House of Representatives and a third of the Senate seats are up for election in November next year. Within that there is an opportunity. As politicians, we know, when one gets within a year of an election, the vision changes, and I have no doubt the vision will change as we move towards the end of this year in the United States, whereby it will be less about Trump and more about where the power will be come November 2026. That is where the opportunity to use our power lies, which is quiet negotiation and using our friendship to reach out to all the friends we have across all of the United States of America. We absolutely should not panic but we do have to take this very seriously.”
“I welcome Minister of State, Deputy Byrne. The comments from the Tánaiste this morning are most welcome. His tone and approach are very welcome. It is very important that we are not caught up with what a lot of media have been caught up with since the US presidential election and throughout the whole era of Trumpism, namely, the constant rhetoric about what Trump is doing today and what he might do tomorrow. There is a much wider political landscape in the US. We also cannot forget the friends we do have in the US and how our island is held within the US. I welcome the Tánaiste's tone this morning. Rather than battering the President of the United States, it is important that we now start using the arms of government, the arms of this House and the Lower House, to reach out to all of our friends in the United States and start a lobby.”