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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“I refer in particular to one family who live close to me, Seán and Louise Gibbons and their daughter, Emma. They are ready with the grant and ready to demolish their house, but there is nowhere they can be facilitated as a family until such time as the new house is developed. The Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, wrote to them last year and assured them that legislation would be forthcoming to deal with the awful situation they are in. They cannot demolish the house because they have nowhere else to go. They would like a facility whereby they could keep the old house and build a new house alongside it. Before the new house is constructed, they would sign an agreement whereby the old house would be demolished after the new building starts, rather than before. I will leave that in the Minister's capable hands.”
“In many cases, people were probably left those houses by a loved one or relation and do not have the funds to do something with them. This is a good opportunity for the council, if it was put in the position, to collaborate with these homeowners, encourage them to use the grant and provide funds for them to carry out the works on the house. The council would then be the final tenant and would take the house for a prolonged rental period or else purchase the house. There are thousands of such houses right across rural Ireland, as the Minister's colleagues will have pointed out to him. The croí cónaithe grant would be a good avenue for this. My final point concerns the mica and pyrite situation in Donegal and the other counties where it is evolving. A lot of good work was done in the previous term but there are still some anomalies.”
“It is pure fear by officials in case they pay too much money. If that task force were there and someone in the Department were at the end of the telephone, it would encourage these people who are in positions to do the purchasing, streamline the purchase process and streamline their thoughts, rather than this paralysis that exists. An awful lot of paralysis exists in local authorities in dealing with housing across the board, and that example I used with regard to purchase is one of them. Croí conaithe has been a very successful grant and I think it can go further. I listened to what other Members have said in that direction as well. I noticed during the general election, when going around rural Donegal, the number of houses that are sitting vacant but not derelict, as Senator Tully said.”
“So much time is wasted between developers and officials, elected Members of Parliament, local authorities and officials. There has to be a task force that streamlines the information on schemes. Too many local authorities are pulling in different directions with different ideas and interpretations of what they are being told by Departments. Sometimes they cause more harm than good. If we had a proper streamlining of local authorities, we would see far greater delivery. A task force would actually keep on top of officials from that point of view. Take first and foremost what other Members mentioned here about the delivery of housing. One of the first jobs is buying land. The purchase of lands can take six months and beyond in many cases. I have witnessed that myself in County Donegal.”
“Not today, Chairman. I welcome the Minister to the House and say goodbye to the students. Slán anois. The Minister is very welcome. I congratulate him on his new appointment. No doubt it is quite a task, but he has very capable hands and I have great trust in him. I know the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, put everything into the Department. Some people believe it is a matter of turning on taps and houses will appear. Dealing with housing is no simple task. It is so complex and there is no one fix that fits all. Certainly, from my humble experience in dealing with housing and local authorities, I would be very strong today from the point of view of having a task force for housing and dealing with the local authorities. There is too much variance of opinion on what the legislation says about the delivery of different schemes.”
“It is very welcome that this is not just about investigating accidents; it is also about ensuring that accidents are prevented and that vessels are kept to the highest potential standards. This will provide the most robust assurance that vessels are safe to operate and that crews and the industrial personnel being transported will be protected. Such a regime will allow for the survey and certification of these vessels by the Marine Survey Office and for them to fly the Irish flag should they wish to do so. That will align Ireland with international practice, ensuring a level playing field in terms of inspection by port states. It will also fulfil Ireland's obligation as a party to the SOLAS Convention, as the Minister mentioned. I commend the Bill to the House.”
“The establishment of the marine accident investigation unit will ensure that Ireland also complies with EU legislation on the designation of a marine accident and investigative body. The Bill provides for a transition from the current structure whereby the Marine Casualty Investigation Board is the designated investigative body until the establishment of the full-time permanent MAIU, similar to the Air Accident Investigation Unit and also the Railway Accident Investigation Unit. The Bill also provides for a full regulatory regime to be put in place for the construction and operation of offshore service vessels and for the carriage of industrial personnel in the offshore sector.”
“It has considerable potential for energy for this island - not just for the island itself, but for export to the EU as well. I have visited Rossaveal and seen the level of preparatory works that have taken place there. We have a great deal of work to do, but this Bill is an important piece in building the foundations in that regard. The marine accident investigation unit will carry out marine safety investigations into accidents involving vessels in Irish waters and Irish-flagged vessels anywhere in the world. International alignment of our standards in investigations is important in that regard. I am glad this Bill will take care of that so that those investigations that do take place, wherever the vessels may be, will all be of a similar international standard. That is very important.”
“As such, the Bill is at the centre of our future economic and sovereign prosperity. It is timely, given the significant potential we have that is yet to be realised, in many cases right along our coastline. The previous Minister was very much focused on the east coast. Given the part of the world the Minister of State comes from, I hope and expect changes in that regard this time around. Where the wind energy sector is concerned, all locations should get the opportunity to move at the one time. The potential for wind energy that we have on the west coast is massive. From my own perspective - Senator Boyle will back me on this - the location off the north-west coast is probably the second most advantageous site in the world.”
“The Minister of State is welcome to the House with this, his first Bill. Fianna Fáil welcomes and supports the Bill. As the Minister of State outlined, the Bill provides for the establishment of the marine accident investigative unit within the Department of Transport and for a regulatory regime to be put in place for the construction and operation of offshore service vessels operating in Ireland to support the offshore renewable energy sector as well as for the carriage of industrial personnel. This Bill is necessary to provide the most robust system for ensuring that offshore service vessels are safe to operate and provide protection to the crew and industrial personnel being carried. In this regard, the provisions of this new Bill are necessary to facilitate the further development of the offshore wind sector.”
“I would also like to see the Cathaoirleach developing those relations and having more North-South interaction with the politicians through the forum that the then Ceann Comhairle, Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl, and the Speaker, Edwin Poots, set up in the autumn. I would like to see that process back up and running again. I would like to see much more interaction because it is relationships that are going to move this country on, not what the Governments put in place. It is about the relationships. The relationships are not there and if we are not big enough to stand up and drive those relationships, and put our hand out, we are wasting our time and the referendum will not go anywhere. It is on us to improve for the next generation.”
“Our big problem, not as politicians but as a society, is that we do not know each other, North and South. We are afraid to engage. I think the Cathaoirleach can change that. We need to start bringing young people from both sides of the divide, North and South, into chambers like this and start driving change and engagement. As politicians, we need to then take ownership and put out our hand to the unionist community, not constantly battle with each other. We say an awful lot about democracy and how democracy works here when it is not working in other parts of the world. It is not working very well north of the Border either at the minute, although that is not to condemn the parties. As politicians, North and South, we need to be a big brother, particularly in the South.”
“We all need to take responsibility in reaching out our hand to the 1 million people on this island who feel closed off in the north-east corner. There are 11 counties in that part of the country that have been affected, not just six, because there are also the Border counties in the South. It is the ten Border counties plus Antrim, so more than a third of this country is still badly affected by our history. However, we now have it in our power to change all of that and to make a better future for the next generations. Even while discussing the next generations, there is work that we could do to mirror some of the work that is done by organisations that work with schools, North and South. School classes and schoolchildren are coming together and are funded to meet on a regular basis to discuss politics and actually get to know each other.”
“On the back of that upbringing and the republican homestead I was brought up in, it would be remiss of me not to talk about the shared island movement that is going on at the moment. While we all talk about constitutional change, for me, too many talk about having a border poll. The Government is planning and investing, as well as having 62 different pieces of research to identify what is taking place on this island, North and South. That is real planning, not hearsay. We can all lead in this regard, and I commend Senator Clonan for his speech today. Where the real preparation needs to happen is with representation in this country. We all need to take responsibility when it comes to the national question.”
“Everybody is on their best behaviour here today and we all want to work with each other. No doubt, that will change somewhat tomorrow, but we all have a job to do. I come from a family in the north of Donegal. This is our 100th year of representation, the same as the Fianna Fáil Party. I come from a very proud tradition of republicanism. The family has given 154 years of representation at the European Parliament, at ministerial level, in Dáil Éireann, at the Seanad level and in Donegal County Council. We all come from a small house in north Donegal, of which the Cathaoirleach is aware. We were all born and reared there - all five councillors, two Senators and four TDs - so it is a particularly proud day for me to stand here, and to be here for the period of that 100th year of representation.”
“Senator Boyle is following in his father’s footsteps but he has got a step further into this House. I know he will represent his part of the world and his part of the county to the best of his ability and I look forward to working with him. Senator Bradley is also a Donegal lady. She lives not too far from me, in the town of Milford, and I know many of her family well. She has been a fantastic advocate for disabilities and cancer services, and I look forward to working with her. I served with Senator Flynn in the last term and I wish her well. As she said herself, she was appointed the last time but she has had a great achievement in getting elected on this occasion. She is a fantastic advocate for her people. I wish her well and look forward to working with her, as well as with all my Donegal colleagues and all others in the House.”
“Ba mhaith liom cúpla focal a rá. First, I congratulate the Cathaoirleach on his success last night in being democratically elected to the Chair. I wish him very well for the term ahead. The father of the House gave him a fair run for his money. I am sure Senator Wilson finds it strange to be called father of the House. I do not know whether we should call him "Father Wilson" or what his title will be. He is a bit young looking to be the father of the House but there is no better man for the role. I also wish Senator Fiona O'Loughlin well in her tenure leading Fianna Fáil as a political group in the House. I offer my best wishes to my Donegal colleagues, outgoing and newly elected. Senator Boyle has just spoken. I served on Donegal County Council with his father, who was a man of great pride and an absolute gentleman.”