Noel Grealish
Galway West · Independent · Ireland
“In this regard, the FAI has strongly represented the views of its membership that Israel should be excluded from international football competitions, including bringing a motion to UEFA to this effect last year.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta. I am taking this on behalf of the Minister for Education and Youth, Deputy Hildegarde Naughton. I will outline to the Dáil the current position on investments in school infrastructure in County Waterford. Waterford county is broken down into five school planning areas.”
“We will also continue to use our influence to persuade the international community to take appropriate action and stop this conflict. However, we should not reduce this issue to one or two football games or events.”
“Should the first fixture take place in Dublin, which again is ultimately a matter for the FAI and UEFA, I am fully confident that An Garda Síochána has the expertise and resources to police the game properly.”
“Of the total €7.55 billion investment, it is envisaged that approximately €5 billion will be used for project roll-out to support the delivery and modernisation of school buildings across the large-scale, additional accommodation, modular and annual September accommodation needs programmes.”
“Ireland had taken a strong stance in respect of the ongoing conflict in the Middle East, including recognising the State of Palestine, and the Government stands ready to play our part in working towards a sustainable peace between Israel and Palestine, through the realisation of the two-state solution.”
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“This section provides a legislative basis for the Central Bank to receive information and pass information to and from entities in the cash system to provide advance notice of changes. Part 3 focuses on the resilience of the cash system. It provides for the regulation of ATM operators and cash-in-transit companies, including registration conditions and notification requirements. It also provides for the sharing of information between the Central Bank and the Private Security Authority. Part 4 provides powers that will be required by the Central Bank to implement and oversee the registration regime in Part 3. It provides for the making of regulations by the Central Bank and the setting of service standards for ATMs.”
“These fees are separate to normal bank fees or charges for an account. Under this section, the Minister for Finance may make regulations that prohibit or cap the charging of fees for cash withdrawals from ATMs. Such regulations may only be made following consultation with the Central Bank and where the Minister is satisfied that financial inclusion is being impaired due to such fees. While ATM access fees are not presently charged for domestic withdrawals in Ireland, this section allows the Minister for Finance to respond in the event that they are introduced. Section 12 provides the Central Bank with the power to require information from entities operating in the cash system. This includes information from designated entities, cash-in-transit, CIT, providers, ATM operators, and other entities that operate cash service points.”
“Where this reveals a breach of the access to cash criteria or if the Central Bank has determined that there is a local deficiency that warrants a remedy, the Central Bank will notify the designated entities and the local deficiencies process will begin. Section 10 provides that designated entities will be credit institutions whose market share of current accounts and household deposits exceed thresholds prescribed by the Minister for Finance for two consecutive quarters. These thresholds may be set, by regulation, at between 5% and 15%. The Minister for Finance may amend these thresholds, as appropriate, following consultation with the Central Bank and other specified stakeholders. Section 11 deals with access fees. These are fees charged by an ATM operator not providing current accounts for the use of a specific ATM.”
“The Central Bank is required to publish the guidelines within 12 months of commencement of the section. In preparing these guidelines, the Central Bank shall consult with a number of stakeholders, including the Minister for Finance, designated entities, representatives of consumers, persons with disabilities, elderly persons, SMEs and other persons it considers appropriate. Section 9 provides for the monitoring and enforcement of compliance with the access to cash criteria in section 5 and for addressing local deficiencies. The Central Bank will monitor and publish information in relation to cash infrastructure.”
“Local deficiencies may occur where, even though the access to cash criteria in section 5 are met, localised difficulties with access to cash infrastructure arise. A person can notify the Central Bank of a potential local deficiency, which may then assess the notification. Where the Central Bank determines that there is a local deficiency that needs to be addressed, it shall notify the designated entities, which will have an opportunity to propose a remedy. Where no proposals are made, or if the proposed remedy is not considered sufficient, the Central Bank may then issue a draft direction to one or more of the designated entities to address the local deficiency. Section 8 provides for the preparation and publication of guidelines on local deficiencies.”
“Reviews must be completed within nine months of publication of final census population data, if cash demand decreases by more than 15% in one calendar year compared to the preceding calendar year, or at the request of the Minister for Finance. The Central Bank may also undertake a review on its own initiative. Having assessed such a review, the Minister for Finance may amend the criteria. Section 6 provides the Minister for Finance with the ability to request the collection and publication, by the Central Bank, of data in relation to cash infrastructure. This data will include the number and value of cash withdrawals. This section also allows the Minister to specify the form, manner, and frequency of publication. Section 7 defines and sets out the process for identifying local deficiencies.”
“Initially, the access to cash criteria will be based on December 2022 levels, taking account of the exits of KBC and Ulster Bank from the Irish retail market, and designated entities will be responsible for ensuring the criteria are met. Section 5 also provides the Minister for Finance with the ability to prescribe a minimum number of ATMs per 100,000 people in each NUTS 3 region, which are available outside of the ATM operator hours if required. The section also provides for the review of the access to cash criteria under different conditions. Reviews must be completed within nine months of publication of the final census population data.”
“Section 5 provides that the Minister for Finance shall prescribe the criteria for sufficient and effective access to cash. This will be achieved by establishing the access to cash criteria and regulations, including the percentage of the population for each region in Ireland that must have access to an ATM and cash service point with a specific distance of not less than 5 km and not more than 10 km. A cash service point is a location where cash can be deposited and withdrawn and where in-person assistance is available. Bank branches and post offices satisfy this definition. To ensure sufficient ATM capacity, a minimum number of ATMs per 100,000 people per region will also be prescribed. The regions used will be in the NUTS 3 region relied on by Eurostat.”
“I highlight that a small number of Government amendments were made on Committee Stage in the Dáil that were so technical in nature they did not involve any changes to the policy objectives of the Bill. These amendments were made to ensure the proper functioning of the legislation following enactment. I will now describe the main elements of the Bill. Part 1 is comprised of sections 1 to 4, inclusive. These sections give the Title of Bill, set out when it will come into effect, define the terms used throughout the Bill, contain provisions relating to expenses, and include a standard section on ministerial regulations and orders. Part 2 is comprised of sections 5 to 12, inclusive. As these sections make up the major part of the access to cash framework, I will explain them in detail.”
“In this context, the Department of Finance’s retail banking review published in November 2022 recommended development of access to cash legislation that would preserve access to cash, having regard to the levels of infrastructure in December 2022. The review also called on the legislation to require ATM operators and cash-in-transit providers, CITs, to be authorised and supervised by the Central Bank of Ireland. The Finance (Provision of Access to Cash Infrastructure) Bill, published by the Government on 31 July 2024, addresses these recommendations. It aims to establish a framework to ensure the future evolution of cash infrastructure in Ireland will be managed in a fair, orderly, transparent and equitable manner and provide for the oversight of ATM deployers and cash-in-transit providers.”
“Cash payment has an important role in society and it is essential it remains readily available. Immediately prior to the pandemic, just under €20 billion was withdrawn annually from ATMs in the State. While this declined to approximately €12.8 billion in 2024, cash still has a role in our society and economy. It is important to consumers in all walks of life because it is a private, secure and instant form of payment. It is a budgeting tool for many and allows individuals to maintain their financial independence. Cash is also important to many small and medium enterprises. It is imperative to ensure cash remains widely available and accessible to protect the economy when technology is not a viable option and to ensure those who rely on it can continue to do so.”
“I will bring this matter to the attention of the Minister. I hope that the officials are watching and listening. Perhaps they will listen to the Senator and put something in place. Screening would be worthwhile even if it saved one life and I am sure it would save a lot of lives. I again thank the Senator for bringing this matter to our attention.”
“I am only here delivering the reply from the Minister but, as an avid GAA man myself, unfortunately I have come across these cases. I came across a case where a young person collapsed on the pitch and the ambulance could not even get in with how the barrier came across at the gate. It was terrible to see what happened that day. I agree with the Senator and I hope the Minister and the officials within the Department will listen to what he has to say. I know he is passionate on this issue. As I said, I am an avid GAA supporter and, unfortunately, a lot of these cases occur at pitches where children are involved in sports activities. I do not know how much it would cost to screen people or how a scheme can be implemented but I am sure we would learn from a pilot scheme and could build on it.”
“Work is already in progress to implement the National Ambulance Service's national AED - defibrillator - registry, which will be mapped to the National Ambulance Service dispatch system and a supporting app for dispatching first responders.”
“Enhanced community response is critical to improving cardiac arrest survival rates, and this is wholly recognised in the National Ambulance Service’s out-of-hospital cardiac arrest strategy. The National Ambulance Service has a network of more than 250 community first responder schemes, supported by the community engagement team. In the event of a cardiac arrest, automated text messages direct community first responders to the scene of any cardiac arrest that occurs in the catchment area. The Government is committed to ensuring that Ireland continues to improve out-of-hospital cardiac arrest survival rates.”
“The review provides 23 recommendations around cardiac health policy. The report gives us the data and roadmap reform of cardiac services, and the Minister is ambitious to progress this important work. Specifically, the review recommends that services for inherited cardiac conditions be provided as a national service, with strong links to regional cardiology centres and supported by genetic services aligned with a national clinical genetics service. The Minister has written to the HSE to begin developing an implementation plan for the review’s recommendations. This will be a key facilitator of our new national cardiovascular strategy as promised in the programme for Government.”
“Children’s Health Ireland, CHI, at Crumlin provides targeted screening and ongoing care of children identified at high risk of or affected by an inherited cardiovascular condition, ICC. Children are primarily identified based on wider family history in partnership with, first, the family heart screening clinic, FHSC, at Heart House, Mater Misericordiae University Hospital and, second, cardiac risk in the young, CRY, at Tallaght University Hospital. CHI at Crumlin, along with FHSC and CRY, work together and as a combined entity are a recognised centre of European excellence for the care of ICC families with accreditation through the European Reference Networks. The national review of adult specialist cardiac services was published recently. The review provides a detailed, evidence-driven analysis of adult cardiac services.”
“All screening programmes have both harms and benefits, so these NSAC processes ensure recommendations are based on solid evidence. This is critical to maintaining rigorous processes for effective, quality-assured, and safe screening programme standards. I must emphasise that any changes to Ireland’s screening programmes will always be based on the evidence. The NSAC holds calls for submissions, which invite proposals from all stakeholders and organisations, including members of the public, the HSE and other medical professionals, for the introduction of new screening programmes or changes to existing programmes. The next call for submissions will open shortly. Regarding sudden arrhythmic death syndrome, the cause may be related to underlying cardiac disease, inherited cardiac conditions or may remain unknown.”
“I thank Senator Kennelly and I have been asked by the Minister for Health to respond to his Commencement matter. I thank him for facilitating this opportunity to discuss this important matter of cardiac screening for young athletes. Ireland has very robust procedures in place for the introduction of new screening programmes. Any proposed changes to Ireland’s screening programmes will be facilitated through established evidence-driven protocols. The national screening advisory committee, NSAC, is the independent expert group which considers proposed changes to screening programmes or the introduction of new screening programmes. The NSAC assesses the evidence robustly and transparently and against internationally accepted criteria before making recommendations to the Minister for Health.”
“As part of HIQA’s review, the ESRI has been commissioned to conduct national and regional demand and capacity reviews. There has been a high level of public interest in the process with 1,121 submissions being received during the six-week public consultation. As part of the stakeholder engagement workstream, the final report of the HIQA review will inform future decision-making around the design and delivery of urgent and emergency healthcare services in the mid-west as requested by the Minister for Health. I met the Minister one day when she was on her way to Cork to inspect University Hospital Cork. She is passionate about getting more consultants working over the weekends, particularly at bank holiday weekends. In some hospitals where there is an excellent rota in place, there is a greatly reduced number of people on trolleys.”
“The people of the mid-west region deserve access to responsive and safe urgent and emergency care. The Government is delivering improvements through a combination of increased capacity and reform. These reforms are seeking to increase acute capacity and, where appropriate, divert people away from the emergency department to more suitable services. Overall, 572 new inpatient beds will be delivered in the mid-west region from 2020 to 2031. Site works have been commenced on the new Limerick surgical hub for elective procedures. Opening hours have been extended at the medical assessment units in Ennis and Nenagh hospitals from 8 a.m. until midnight, expanding the service availability across the region. Local injury units are accepting patients 12 hours a day, seven days a week, at St. John's, Ennis and Nenagh hospitals.”
“That is 255 more doctors and consultants and 455 more nurses and midwives across the mid-west region. Fewer patients are now waiting on waiting lists, with a total reduction of 30% from December 2021 to March of this year. The Government will continue to focus on delivering the necessary reforms and improvements in health services for the mid-west region.”
“The review is ongoing against a backdrop of continued investment in the capacity and reform of the mid-west health system, particularly at University Hospital Limerick. In December 2024 a fast-track 16-bed inpatient block opened at University Hospital Limerick. Another 16-bed unit is due to open in June and a 96-bed block will be delivered by September. Enabling works are also under way for a second 96-bed block. In total, including further beds planned for the acute hospital inpatient bed capacity expansion plan, up to 308 new beds will be opened at University Hospital Limerick by 2028. This expansion is supported by the increase in staffing and hospital reforms. Whole-time equivalent staffing at the hospital has grown by 43% since December 2019.”
“As part of this review, HIQA was requested to consider the case for a second ED in the context of the population changes in recent years and ongoing pressures at the ED at University Hospital Limerick. HIQA submitted an interim briefing on 28 February 2025 and the report was published on the Department of Health website on 19 March. The interim briefing provides a progress update on the various workstreams of the ongoing work programme. The final report of the review is expected by the end of May 2025. This report will contain advice for the Minister, informed by the evidence compiled across the various workstreams, to support decision-making around the design and delivery of urgent and emergency healthcare services in the mid-west region.”
“John's Hospital is classified as a model 2S hospital and can carry out intermediate surgery and day case surgery. The model 2 hospitals play a pivotal role in the delivery of safe, high-quality patient care in the mid-west. They accept transfers of appropriate patients from UHL. These patients can either be stepped down from an inpatient ward or, where a clinician has decided it is appropriate, transferred directly from the emergency department, ED. In May 2024, HIQA was requested by the then Minister for Health to conduct a review of urgent and emergency care in the mid-west region with the primary objective of ensuring safe, quality acute care.”
“They will ensure that the school is provided with the supports required to enable a child to return to school on a full-time basis. On what the Senator just said, I remember Mary Forde, who was principal of Presentation College, Athenry. She had a number of students from the Traveller community. One of them went on to do the leaving certificate - unfortunately not many of them did so - achieved great results and went on to do a teaching course. There is a young man in Galway named Ian McDonagh with whom I am very friendly. He is an exceptional young man. I had him up here for a full day with me and we met the Taoiseach and every Minister. He is a very good young lad who stayed in school. Senator Flynn is making a very valid point.”
“I thank Senator Flynn for what she said and I hope her message will get back to the Minister. I thank her for raising the matter and giving me the opportunity to assure the House that the Department of Education, TESS and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential. They assure me they will continue to support children and their families, providing information on the reduced school days guidelines and by continuing to monitor the use of reduced school days for children of all ethnic backgrounds and in particular children with special educational needs.”
“The use of reduced school days can, if used appropriately, be a positive intervention which has the intention of assisting a student to return to full-time attendance, such as supporting a student to return to school after a period of absence due to a medical or mental health-related condition or due to other exceptional circumstances. It is based on the needs of the individual student. The number of children on a reduced school day in the past school year was 1,275, or 0.13% of the student population. This increased by 22% from 1,044, or 0.11% of the student population, in 2022-2023. The main reason for the increase is likely to be the increased awareness in schools of the requirement to report the activation of a reduced school day.”
“I thank the Senator for her passionate plea this morning on this issue, which I am taking on behalf of the Minister for Education, Deputy McEntee. Reduced school days, RSD, is a transitionary arrangement which should only be put in place in exceptional circumstances and for very limited and time-bound circumstances and only with the consent of the parent or the guardian. It is designed to assist the student to attend for some part of the school day along with his or her peers where it is not possible at a point in time for them to attend in a full-time capacity.”
“I will raise that with the Minister as well as the other issue of asking her to visit the site. I will convey to her that the Deputy raised it on the floor of the House this morning and would like if these issues could be addressed.”
“The Government invested significantly in the National Ambulance Service in 2025 with an allocation of €285 million. Included in this investment is €8 million for new service developments, which will convert to a full-year cost of €16 million in 2026. As I said earlier, new ambulance service development funding in 2025 will deliver 180 additional posts in the National Ambulance Service for the front-line emergency capacity to improve access for patients to alternative care pathways, and to further develop essential specialised services such as the National Ambulance Service critical care retrieval services for critically ill patient transfers and the National Ambulance Service's aero-medical services. The Deputy raised a couple of issues with regard to looking for a new site for the station.”
“I thank the Deputy. In my opening statement I focused on the specific issues she raised concerning the National Ambulance Service station in Drogheda and the status of the rapid response vehicles at the station. I will now speak more generally about the National Ambulance Service's urgent and emergency ambulance performance and reiterate this Government's continued investment in this service. Demand for our urgent and emergency ambulance services rose significantly in 2024 with almost 430,000 calls received from the public. This represents a rise of almost 32,000 calls, or 8%, on 2023. Despite this increase the National Ambulance Service performance improved in 2024 in respect of both "purple" cardiac life-threatening, and "red" all other life-threatening calls when compared to 2023.”
“I am informed that the NAS has engaged with the relevant trade unions and that interim measures have been put in place to allow out-of-working-hours responses to emergencies to continue in a manner consistent with the Revenue Commissioners' guidelines. It is important to emphasise that the HSE is obliged to comply with Revenue Commissioner regulations on the personal use of publicly owned vehicles. It is expected that, following a ruling from the Revenue Commissioners and consideration of the review report, the NAS will update its policy on the use of NAS response vehicles accordingly.”
“As the Deputy will be aware, the NAS is conducting a detailed independent review of its policies and procedures governing the use of these response vehicles out of hours. This follows an initial review that identified a potential benefit-in-kind, BIK, tax liability for NAS staff using official NAS rapid response vehicles to travel between their homes and work. I understand that the HSE has written to the Revenue Commissioners to seek a ruling on whether the use of response vehicles by NAS staff outside working hours can be considered exempt from BIK regulations and a reply is awaited from Revenue. As a matter of prudence, I also understand that in February 2025 the NAS informed all staff members of their potential BIK tax liability if they used an NAS RRV to travel to and from work.”
“In 2024, the HSE estates unit began a separate assessment of the ambulance station to determine the cause and severity of a number of building cracks. This process is ongoing. Should the cracks prove to be structural in nature, the intention is that funding will be provided this year for remedial works. Turning to the matter of rapid response vehicles, RRVs, following enquiries made with the HSE, I am informed that there has been no reduction in the number of rapid response vehicles at the Drogheda station. It is important to clarify that the rapid response vehicles highlighted by the Deputy are not patient carrying vehicles. RRVs enable NAS staff to respond quickly to incidents in support of an emergency ambulance during working hours.”
“I am informed that a Health and Safety Authority, HSA, audit was conducted at the NAS station in Drogheda in December 2021. The HSA report highlighted some shortcomings at the station and an improvement plan was put in place to address the report's recommendations. Improvement works were completed in early 2023 at a cost of €110,000 and included modifications to traffic management, station access, egress and storage. Subsequently, in late 2023, the roof of a structure at the rear of the station, which was used as a storage area, developed a leak. Some initial repairs were carried out to address the issue, but the leak persisted. In response, the roof was replaced in October 2023 and the interior of the building was cleaned and repainted.”
“On behalf of the Minister for Health, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, I thank Deputy Byrne for raising these important issues. The Government continues to prioritise increased investment in the National Ambulance Service with an allocation of €285 million in 2025. Investment this year includes €8 million for new service developments to deliver 180 additional posts. This will help to support capacity building in our front-line emergency services, further expand NAS alternative care pathways and help to further develop NAS specialist services. As the Deputy may be aware, the NAS operates from more than 110 locations throughout the country. It actively assesses and prioritises its locations for improvement works with the aim of ensuring safe working conditions for its staff.”
“I do not. I spoke to the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, about this when I saw the notice of Commencement matters. I will raise it in every avenue I can. We will hopefully see light to it. I think people can drive an ordinary bus until the age of 90 in the private sector, but not for Bus Éireann. Talking to the Senator, he mentioned that there is a completely different system in place in the UK. Maybe we should look at that. I would like to see something happen. I will raise it with the Minister of State and come back to the Senator. We will try to give him a timeline if some decision, hopefully the right one, can be made on this. I will revert to the Minister of State on the issues the Senator has raised.”
“In my role as an ordinary TD in previous Dáileanna, I constantly raised this issue and I fully support the Senator on this. I will also support it as a Minister of State in the Government. I can see no reason why a person cannot drive a school bus if he or she only does one or two hours in the morning and another one or two hours. It would solve a huge crisis. We have cases where buses are parked because they cannot get drivers. There are parents screaming to get buses to bring kids to school. I know it is not under my Department but I fully support the Senator on this and I will raise it in any avenue I can. I have already spoken to the Minister of State, Deputy Seán Canney, on this and I will meet him about this. He works in the Department of Transport. The Senator makes huge sense in what he is raising.”
“The policy and criteria also apply to drivers nominated by private operators who operate services as part of the school transport scheme, provided they hold the requisite license and satisfy an annual medical examination until the retirement age of 70 years. The Road Safety Authority, under the remit of the Department of Transport, committed to reviewing the upper age limit for drivers as it relates to larger vehicles and school buses. This review is now complete. Under the new programme for Government, we have committed to "Carry out an independent assessment on the feasibility of removing the exclusion of drivers aged over 70 from the School Transport Scheme". The Minister will be engaging with the Minister for Transport and with Bus Éireann to advance this.”
“I thank the Senator for his very kind words. I look forward to working with him over the next four and a half to five years, I hope. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. As the Senator is aware, the school transport scheme is a significant operation managed by Bus Éireann on behalf of the Department of Education. In the current school year, more than 172,500 children are transported daily in approximately 7,900 vehicles across 10,300 routes to primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. These daily trips cover over 100 million km. The retirement age for school bus drivers has been set by Bus Éireann at 70 years of age and this also applies to all Bus Éireann road passenger services.”
“I realise the passion with which the Senator raises this issue, which is serious for the people involved. I will give the Senator one assurance, that what he has raised here today will be brought to the attention of the Minister. I will do it personally to ensure all proper procedures are put in place to ensure the issue the Senator raised will not happen again and this case is dealt within the proper procedures within the Department. I cannot talk specifically about the case but the Government recognises the fundamental importance of safeguarding those who may be at risk of abuse, harm or neglect, both in health and social care services and, more broadly, across society. The present-day approach to the delivery of services for vulnerable people is guided by an array of safeguarding advances that have been introduced and built upon.”
“The HSE’s trust in care policy is in place to ensure proper procedures for reporting suspicions or complaints of abuse against staff members while upholding the dignity and welfare of service user recipients. The HSE states that any trust in care investigation process involves the rights of all individuals involved and these rights must be fully protected to ensure a robust process and outcome in the interest of all parties. The Senator will be aware that fair procedures and the rights of parties involved in such a process must be maintained. That is the message that was given to me, Senator.”
“A requirement exists for HSE-funded service providers to take appropriate measures to prevent abuse from arising as well as to respond to and report all abuse concerns as per their service agreement, in compliance with the HSE policy on safeguarding vulnerable persons at risk of abuse. Senator Clonan may be aware that the Department of Health is currently developing a new policy on adult safeguarding in the health and social care sector in consultation with the Department of children, disability and equality. The Department of Health is at an advanced stage in finalising this policy to further strengthen existing protections in this sector. It is expected that these sectoral policy proposals will be brought before the Government in the coming months and that the preparation of related underpinning legislation will commence thereafter.”
“The HSE, however, assures the Department that, in respect of the case referred to by Senator Clonan, it remains engaged with both the service user and their family and has offered ongoing additional supports, including one-to-one counselling with their counsellor of choice. In referring to the Senator’s query and the recommendations of a multidisciplinary report, the HSE advises that a clinical multidisciplinary assessment report was recently completed in conjunction with the individual and their family to assess day services needs based on the individual’s needs and wishes. This is being considered by the relevant parties. I take this opportunity to offer reassurances on the various structures and processes in place within the sector which aim to protect against abuse and provide for appropriate action.”
“I thank Senator Clonan for raising this issue. As he knows, I am taking it on behalf of the Minister for Health. I also welcome Louise, Caitlin's mom, to the Visitors Gallery. The Senator has raised a very important issue. I will read the statement given to me by the Minister. The Government considers matters of safeguarding to be of paramount importance and values and appreciates people coming forward to report safeguarding concerns to the appropriate professional bodies and authorities. Although Senator Clonan refers to a specific case which is known to the HSE, he will appreciate that it would not be appropriate to address here the specifics of an ongoing sensitive case concerning allegations with respect to an individual.”
“The US tariffs, as announced, will have significant direct and indirect effects on the Irish food and drink sector and on the wider sector in the EU but every American family will also feel the effect of these tariffs in higher prices every time they go to the grocery store. I hope the US will soon come to the table for meaningful negotiations with the EU to avoid unnecessary damage to both our economies. Even today, within my Department, there was a high-level meeting between An Bord Bia, senior officials from the Department and a large company of food stakeholders who were meeting to see can look for new markets which is crucially important.”
“He will meet with US Government officials, state legislators, US business leaders and representatives of Irish companies with a significant footprint in the US economy. The Minister will discuss the direct benefits Irish food and drink companies are bringing to the US economy in terms of jobs and local inputs, which is to the benefit of US farmers and businesses. The trade mission and its follow-up will be a timely opportunity for Bord Bia and its client companies to have direct engagement with key US customers. In relation to Northern Ireland, the agrifood sector has well-functioning and deeply integrated all-Ireland supply chains. The Government will work closely with industry to ensure these linkages are not disrupted by the uncertainty created by the US announcements.”
“It is the key export market for Irish whiskey and a significant user of Irish grain and Irish cream liqueur, of which milk is a major ingredient. Regarding imports from the US, there are concerns that the US tariff approach may ultimately result in increased costs for certain categories of animal feed. My colleague, the Minister, Deputy Martin Heydon, is leading a trade mission to the US this week. He is travelling to Washington DC, Kentucky and Chicago. Yesterday, he had a good meeting with his counterpart, the United States Secretary of Agriculture, Brooke Rollins. I compliment the Minister because he has had serious meetings in Congress and with various leaders in the Republican and Democratic parties, which I think is crucially important.”
“I am delighted to have been given the opportunity to speak on this matter, especially in the context of my role as the Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine with special responsibility for new markets and food promotion. Ireland and the US have a significant and mutually beneficial economic relationship. Within this context, the US is a key market for the Irish agrifood trade. It is our second largest market after the UK, with exports valued at almost €2 billion last year. Our dairy and spirit drinks sectors, which together account for 80% of that figure of €2 billion in exports, are especially concerned at the introduction of the 20% tariff on their exports to the US. The US is an important market for Irish dairy exports, especially butter.”