Pádraig Mac Lochlainn
Donegal · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“In recent days, First Minister Michelle O'Neill visited Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce. Present were the heads of Donegal County Council, Atlantic Technological University, Donegal ETB and a range of employers and businesses from across the county.”
“The opportunity to progress towards a united Ireland is incredibly exciting. It is an opportunity to reimagine our island and its potential. David McWilliams wrote in recent years about the impact of partition on the North of Ireland. Some 100 years ago, Belfast was larger than Dublin.”
“There are many challenges and issues but the easiest one is going to be the economic benefits of a united Ireland. They will be immense, particularly for the northern half of the island. As an eminent economist said, if the North of Ireland can perform at the level of counties Cork and Kerry alone, there will be no issues.”
“In recent weeks, the Taoiseach talked about the importance of the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine. However, incredibly, it is the Minister for agriculture who will address the European Parliament's committee on fisheries today.”
“That would give a clear message that the Taoiseach is serious about giving the Department of marine and the Minister of State with responsibility for the marine independence to speak and fight for our people, rather than the Minister for agriculture, who could not possibly know anything about these matters.”
“Nationalism is united on this issue. We are asking for responsible preparation, a Green Paper and a citizens' assembly to make the plan and the case. The Taoiseach says that he is an Irish republican and a united-Irelander, then he should make the case and have a plan. That is what nationalism wants.”
The complete record
Every one of 373 lines we hold for Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 7 of 8.
“As the Chief Whip will be aware, every Thursday at the Business Committee in recent weeks, I have raised the issue of the defective concrete blocks scheme. Last October, the Government confirmed it was going to increase the cap by 10%. Families are tens of thousands of euro short of 100% redress. This cap must be available to everybody undertaking this scheme, not just new entrants. That amendment was promised late last year and we are now here, coming into June, and there is no sign of the amendment. I am urgently asking that the amendment be brought in and to get that money to those families who desperately need it.”
“We are allowing commerce and trade to be done. We cannot even pass that Bill. What has happened to us? There was a time when we led the way, inspired by ordinary workers in Dunnes Stores, in moral outrage and the world followed. We have utterly failed to honour our tradition when it comes to the Palestinian people - utterly failed. We cannot even pass the occupied territories Bill. Our Central Bank is dealing with Israeli war bonds. This is a shameful period. The Government should not console itself that it finally recognised the State of Palestine 12 years after a motion was passed by both Houses. It should not console itself that it finally supported the case in the International Court of Justice. It has held back the occupied territories Bill for years and is facilitating war bonds being sold.”
“When the Dunnes Stores workers made their stand in the 1980s in Ireland, the Government eventually followed suit. It led the way in confronting the South African apartheid regime internationally with sanctions and eventually that regime and apartheid in South Africa came to an end. The Palestinian people recently commemorated the Nakba , the catastrophe, the ethnic cleansing of them from their lands. They have endured oppression, tyranny, genocide and now the mass starvation of their people and the world stands by, but I want to talk about us. We cannot even pass the occupied territories Bill, for God's sake. This is not sanctions against a regime or state. This is about the lands stolen by settlers. We are talking about sanctions against settlers who are committing war crimes as defined by international law.”
“If there is a failure in recruiting the necessary numbers of home care assistants and a lack of beds in community hospitals, there will be a bottleneck at the emergency department and a crisis. A disaster zone is how it is regularly described. I ask the Government to get rid of its pay and numbers strategy, to respect the publicly delivered model we have in Donegal and not to force us to privatise our home care system in Donegal. That is a model we are proud of and we will fight the Government hard if it tries to do that.”
“We have a model of assistance for older people in their homes in Donegal that we are very proud of. It is a publicly delivered system in the main and we have not delegated it out to the private sector. Some tremendous people are working in those services in Donegal but they are being held back by the Government. Its pay and number strategy is basically a recruitment freeze. The Government and HSE senior management are preventing the recruitment of home care assistance in Donegal and waiting lists are growing. These are older people who need essential care and their families need respite. The knock-on effect of this is that we also have a profound crisis in our major acute hospital, Letterkenny University Hospital. Beds in that hospital could be freed up every single week but because of the growing waiting list, we have a knock-on crisis.”
“They will tell you in quiet whispers what they have experienced. I compare it with An Garda Síochána. We have all seen examples of great policing, but sometimes there is also bad policing. Bad policing undermines the confidence of the people you are dealing with. Good policing does the opposite. We have to get back to universally consistent, good policing in the State when it comes to our fishermen.”
“The committee met earlier today. We looked at our work plan. We will be bringing in the fishing representative organisations, the Irish Fishing and Seafood Alliance, the National Inshore Fishermen's Organisation and the Irish Islands Marine Resource Organisation, which represents the inshore and islands, in order that they can have their say in how this is being implemented. We will look at how it compares with what obtains in other European states. We need to make sure that we harmonise regulation across Europe and that there is a level playing pitch for all fishermen. As the Minister of State knows, their livelihoods are at stake. The law can criminalise fishermen. If one speaks to fishermen, as I know the Minister of State and many of our TDs do, they are fearful to speak out. They are afraid for their livelihoods.”
“I shared with the Minister of State my direct eyewitness account of the incredible level of oversight that the SFPA has of the industry. I witnessed in a fish factory in Killybegs CCTV cameras and access to the building at any time. Even that was not enough. I do not know of any industry where there would be cameras literally in the workplace every day, with images going directly from the factory floor to the regulator, and yet that is not enough. We have got to the point where it is out of control. I am reliably informed that this type of approach exists nowhere else in Europe. It impacts on the ability of the industry to attract boats to land and do business. Irish boats are going elsewhere because they do not face the same approach. This has to change.”
“This question asks the views of the Minister of State, Deputy Timmy Dooley, on the Sea-Fisheries and Maritime Jurisdiction Act 2006. The Minister of State will know already from his brief the serious concerns of people in the fishing and seafood industry about the approach of the Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, in comparison to other regulators across Europe. I want to have an exchange with the Minister of State at this early stage in his new role. Our committee will do likewise in the next month or so.”
“We read with interest the comments of the Taoiseach's Government's kingmaker, Michael Lowry, in The Sunday Times , where he boasted about the rota of Ministers who come before his group. He chairs those meetings. Is it not about time the Government published the deal it did with Michael Lowry's group for the programme for Government and took statements and questions and full accountability about the deal it did with Michael Lowry?”
“Will the Minister urgently intervene to get an update from her officials, look through the documentation and, if she will be in Donegal soon, to see this for herself? She will be shocked at how poor the conditions are and how incredible it is that the school delivers an education to those kids. It has given the Department a site and everything else on a plate. I ask the Minister to please sort this out.”
“Scoil Mhuire Milford, County Donegal, is a school that was built in the 1950s. It sits right on the corner of a very busy road junction but the facilities are completely inappropriate. You would have to see it to believe how bad it is. Somehow, the school delivers an incredible education to its children. It has secured a new site at no cost to the State. It is within the control points of the town, Donegal County Council is happy with it and it is across from Loreto Secondary School. Everything is there, which is an incredible situation. The school has presented that to the Minister. It was a commitment before the election that inspectors would come out and this would all be examined, but it appears to be going nowhere.”
“The Minister of State knows better than anybody who represents a rural constituency what having a licence means to people.”
“My colleagues brought forward the motion in February, and there were solutions. That motion was agreed by Government, but nothing has happened of real substance. It is absolutely clear, and I am sorry to say this, that the RSA appears not to be fit for purpose when it comes to driving tests and management of the system. There has been a failure to recruit the necessary personnel and put the necessary resources in place. I find it astonishing that we would say to somebody that he or she will have to wait seven months - it is longer in other places - for this essential test. We appeal to the Minister of State to engage in some straight talking, to intervene and to have a plan, not just to agree. The Government made time available for these statements, but we need action now. What is happening is absolutely outrageous.”
“Like me, the Minister of State represents a rural constituency. As a result, he understands what a massive problem it is if a person is obliged to wait seven months - that is the current waiting time in County Donegal - for his or her driving test. In my home area of Buncrana on the Inishowen Peninsula, the waiting time has doubled in a year. We are getting representations from young people who are desperate and their parents about the jobs or opportunities they will not be able to take up. This has a major impact in rural counties. The Minister of State knows that public transport just does not work across rural counties like Donegal. People do need to have cars to get to their places of education and work in order to provide for their families. It is just unacceptable.”
“If the Government honours what it said it was going to do last year, which is make the increase available to everybody currently going through the scheme, it will fly through the Dáil and the Seanad next week without a problem. It needs to be done urgently. Please, do not now add on other issues that will drag it on for God-knows how long. What is happening to families is cruel. It needs to be sorted out.”
“I am really concerned with this response written by the Department officials. The people who wrote this were present in Donegal in recent days. They know the urgency of this. Now they are talking about adding other issues to the amendments. This could go on forever. This is straightforward. It is a simple amendment to the legislation to make sure that the increase in the cap is available to everybody currently participating in the scheme, not just the new entrants. It is a really straightforward matter. It should be urgently done as a stand-alone amendment. It was made clear to the Minister. I do not know why he would have any doubt about this. There are not ten Stages of pre-legislative scrutiny. This is something that everybody, both Opposition and Government, agrees on.”
“It will be facilitated by the Opposition in every way. We will do everything we can to make it happen next week in the Dáil and Seanad; there is no excuse. This is a simple straightforward amendment to the legislation. It should have been done late last year. It needs to be done now.”
“I raised this directly with the Minister, Deputy James Browne, who was in County Donegal in recent days. I made it clear to not talk about ten Stages of legislation. We will do everything in the Opposition to get this through. No pre-legislative scrutiny will be required if the Government honours what it said it was going to do last year, which was to make this increase in the cap available to everybody who is currently going through the scheme. This is really cruel. People are struggling with the €40,000, €50,000, €60,000, €70,000 or €80,000 plus that they must find themselves. They do not have the money to make the final payments to pay the builders. This is urgent. It has been urgent since late last year. I appeal to the Government now to bring this through as soon as possible. It should be brought through next week.”
“Last year, the then Government finally announced an increase in the cap. It was in line with the recommendations of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland, who examined the real costings on the ground. The reality is that the Government did not apply that to people who are going through the scheme already; it was only for new entrants. That was cruel. The Government made it clear that it was going to amend the legislation to sort this out. I appealed to the Government to do that before the election. I stood in front of the Taoiseach and Tánaiste separately and appealed to them to bring in the amendments. We would make time and it could be done. I feared that this would happen. Unfortunately, I have been proven right. We are now sitting in May and there is no sign of this amendment to the legislation. It is straightforward.”
“Next Tuesday morning, 14-year-old Cara Darmody, the disability rights campaigner, will commence a 50-hour protest outside Leinster House. It is about the failure of the Government to deliver assessments of need to children within the legal six-month period. There are 15,000 children affected. Will the Minister work with the Opposition to draft a motion to go before the Dáil next week to deal with this issue once and for all?”
“It has now been 19 months of genocide and slaughter in Gaza. It has been more than two months of blockades, blocking food and humanitarian aid to the beleaguered people of Gaza. We now have the outrage upon outrage of Netanyahu making it clear he intends to assume full control and displace so many people. We need an emergency debate in this Chamber this week. We need the Minister and questions. We need to send a clear statement there will be sanctions and a price to pay.”
“I get good feedback from everybody. These are not going to be easy issues to deal with. The Government needs to strengthen the seafood section of the plan before us right now. We need to send a clear signal that there is a vision for seafood and fishing communities. We are surrounded by the richest waters in Europe. We have to do better as a country. The appointment of a Minister of State and a dedicated committee is welcome. Let us now strengthen the plan, too.”
“We need to develop such areas and embrace their potential but, again, there are a number of partner stakeholders. These include: the fishing industry, including fishermen; the environmental campaigners, who campaign on important issues; and the offshore renewable energy industry. All three have to be at the table. No area should be designated as a marine protected area unless the maps are co-created. We are not talking about drawing on a map and then consulting afterwards. It has to be done together. It has to be done in partnership. The fishing industry is up for this. It also has to be done with respect and it must look at the real threats to the industry. There is positive work we can do in the time ahead if it is done with respect. I commend the offshore renewable energy seafood task force for the way it has conducted its business.”
“I will focus my comment on fisheries, the seafood sector and the wider marine space. Looking at the east coast of Ireland, we made serious mistakes as a country in developing offshore renewable energy in a way that took away the livelihoods of fishermen. That is how not to do it. However, there has been positive progress in recent years. I commend the work of the offshore renewable energy seafood task force. This has been looking to bring together both industries to work out a way forward that does not threaten the livelihoods of fishermen. As the Minister of State will know, it has been a tough number of years for our industry since Brexit. We need to realise the potential of offshore renewable energy but, in doing so, we must talk about co-creation. I will also touch on marine protected areas.”
“I move amendment No. 1: In paragraph (1), to insert the following after "quorum of each Committee": “, save that the footnote ‘ 3 National Security encompasses cyber-defence, sub-sea critical infrastructure and related hybrid threats’ on page 5 be deleted.”.”
“I listened to the Taoiseach's comments about neutrality over the weekend. As he knows, the triple lock arose from two referendums the Irish people voted on where it was used as an assurance around neutrality. I ask him clearly, if he is going to reverse that, to commit to a referendum. If he is going to get rid of the triple lock, will he put it to a referendum of the Irish people and give them assurances around that? Will he and the Tánaiste facilitate statements taking questions from the Opposition? He called us an aggressive Opposition for defending the rights of the Irish people in two referendums. That is not aggressive; that is a principled stand for the Irish people.”
“We should not be treated like it is a corporate structure that is at arm’s length. This is a crucial public body. I urge that the level of accountability and the culture changes, and changes very quickly.”
“It was resourced because it would supply water not just to Inishowen but, at the time, to the Laggan desert, as it was called, in east Donegal, and to Letterkenny. That is happening. However, it is unacceptable that communities in Clonmany, Carndonagh and north Inishowen do not have the proper water infrastructure. Right now, housing developments are being turned down in places like Carndonagh and Moville because of the water and wastewater deficits. Particularly when we have the Eddie Fullerton dam, it is not acceptable that this would happen. I am asking that Uisce Éireann would have a direct representative for people to speak to in every county, and in somewhere like Donegal there should be two. There should be someone people can speak to if their water pipes burst or there are ongoing problems. We should not have to send emails.”
“I ask them to understand that they need to work in partnership with Donegal County Council and local public representatives, and also with developers. They have a vision and a plan, but it will be orderly, sustainable and part of a planned approach. There is a huge frustration with Uisce Éireann. Of course, that is because it is not resourced properly or structured properly to facilitate that level of vision being operational. There is a lack of joined-up thinking. I also want to talk about the Inishowen peninsula. At the heart of the Inishowen peninsula is the Eddie Fullerton dam, which is named after my late, great colleague, Councillor Eddie Fullerton. That was his vision. It is a massive water supply.”
“Our spokesperson, Deputy Ó Broin, has laid out the national picture and the challenges we face. I am going to take this opportunity to speak about the experience on the ground in Donegal and offer some constructive criticism of Uisce Éireann but also address some challenges for the Government. I will start with our major town, Letterkenny. We want to develop Letterkenny into a city. We want to join Letterkenny with Derry and Strabane - we already talk about the north-west city region - and to attract all the investment and infrastructure that comes with that. The development of Letterkenny is crucial to that vision. There is no doubt that Uisce Éireann, given the lack of resourcing from Government, is a huge barrier to doing that. I am sure that senior management in Uisce Éireann will be listening to this debate or watching it back.”
“These are key industries for Ireland which would be uniquely hit by knee-jerk reactions, and this would not be helpful. The Government must be to the fore in ensuring that retaliatory measures take account of the industries that Ireland relies on. The Government must also outline what preparations it will put in place for mitigation and support measures for businesses affected. As I said, while all options should be on the table, it is a time for cool heads.”
“We have to put Irish interests front and centre as the EU prepares to respond, and it is for this reason that we have chosen to table an amendment to the motion. It is crucial that we protect the all-Ireland economy and we need to see the Government convene the North-South Ministerial Council as soon as possible. Going forward, we hope cooler heads will prevail and we encourage dialogue. There should not be panic but we must be clear-sighted about the risks we face. We urge the Government to engage intensively with the EU to advocate on behalf of key industries of interest to Ireland such as pharma, and also agrifood, drinks, aircraft leasing, tech and financial services. It is welcome that it appears whiskey and dairy products may not be included in the EU list, something we have raised since February.”
“Sinn Féin has tabled an amendment to the motion as we are very concerned that the EU will follow Trump's approach and implement tariffs that are economically damaging. We are clear that the blame currently lies with Trump and that all options should remain on the table. We welcome the opportunity to debate this issue, though we do not accept, and we are concerned this motion does accept, the Trump justification for tariffs and that the only response to them should be acquiescence or to appease. However, we are watching this unfold in real time and the scale of the economic impact is not yet known. In that context, we should refrain, for the time being, from adding fuel to the fire.”
“It is important to understand that tariffs not directly levied on Ireland or the EU can still affect us through implications for supply chains. Many exporters will only see the full implications in the coming time but existing tariffs on other countries can bite here. The Government must outline to people what it intends to do to safeguard their jobs and livelihoods, and to offer them reassurance. It is clear that the only way to win a trade war is not to be in one. Tariffs on pharmaceuticals would result in significantly higher costs for American consumers. It is also the case that the industry here exports significant amounts to many other markets, including Europe and right across the world. We need to ensure this is widely understood.”
“Sinn Féin has warned for some time that the policies of successive Governments have left Ireland uniquely vulnerable to a change in the economic climate and to tariffs. This is due to their failure to invest in infrastructure, their excessive reliance on tax incentives, and their failure to build up our indigenous industry. These moves by Donald Trump and his Administration to introduce tariffs have caused a great deal of concern among the thousands of people working in US multinational companies, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry. Each day we see more concerning news. There are threats today of further tariffs on pharmaceuticals and there is the imposition of enormous 104% tariffs on China. The trade wars are heating up and there will not be any winners, certainly not among workers and taxpayers.”
“No, this is my moment. I have 30 seconds, which is all that has been given. That is all the Ceann Comhairle has allowed me and I intend to make my point. At that point the Government could have moved, along with the rest of us, to form Oireachtas committees immediately under the d'Hondt system. We were told repeatedly that the Government was going to change Standing Orders and that is why the process was delayed. I can tell the House that Standing Order 113(2), which governs the formation of committees, was not changed. We have wasted two months thanks to the Government looking after Michael Lowry. That is why our committees have not been not set up.”
“I appreciate the offer to meet. As the Minister of State knows, it is not even just the Donegal fisherman based in Greencastle and Killybegs who would be seriously impacted. I understand that 25% of the value of the fishery for Greencastle has been lost, but it also has an impact down in Castletownbere and the west of Ireland too, so this is an all-of-Ireland issue. I will engage with the various fishing organisations and talk to the Minister of State. We really need to challenge our diplomatic team. We have to do better here. It really is brazen. As the Minister of State has said, it has cost us anything from €5 million to €6 million per annum. When that is multiplied, it is a serious hit on an industry that is really struggling. I appreciate the offer to meet.”
“I wonder if there is a role for the European Commission here, particularly as it negotiated the trade and co-operation agreement. This is brazen behaviour by the British and it is in bad faith in terms of that agreement. Could we use the European Commission as an ally to resolve this issue?”
“I thank the Minister of State. I know he is new to his brief and I wish him well. I really do wish him well because if he does well, obviously our fishing communities will do well. There has been a major diplomatic failure in respect of this matter. The British authorities have engaged in a brazen intervention. Rockall is an uninhabited rock. Unfortunately, after Brexit we passed the Maritime Jurisdiction Act, which incorporates a 2013 agreement that would have given the British control of the waters around Rockall but not the ability to impose a limit in respect of them, which would have been completely unreasonable. As stated, the Minister of State is new to his brief. I ask him to bring a fresh impetus to this issue and ensure that we go back at it again in a constructive manner. We cannot tolerate what is happening.”
“I am raising the very serious issue of the waters around Rockall, which comprise a traditional fishing ground for Irish fishers. There was no concern prior to Brexit, with reciprocal fishing arrangements between both jurisdictions. However, for four years the British authorities have put a blockade around what is an uninhabited rock. Under international law, it is not permissible to put any kind of limit on this. Will the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine provide an update on the Government's engagement with the British Government to get this issue sorted out?”
“Shame on you for putting his nomination into the Chair and driving a wrecking ball through our Standing Orders. You know it is wrong. Do not lecturer us on morality when you do that.”
“There was no huge uproar. It was when she said that that the uproar ensued. Just look at the video; it cannot be contested. However, the most serious part of all is the motion itself - the motion to amend the Standing Orders. It is crystal clear that in her absolute haste to do the Government's bidding, she actually passed an amendment to the motion. I challenge anybody in this House to watch that video, to write down what he or she hears and tell me anything different. You know that motion was not passed. You know that a wrecking ball was driven through the Standing Orders, all to get your way and to see through the deal by Michael Lowry. I think of Sam Smyth who was brave enough to take on Michael Lowry, with his own livelihood challenged in a court of law. He tells his story. Shame on you for elevating Michael Lowry as a king maker.”
“He was doggedly determined that it would be Michael Lowry and his team. This is how we got this absolute mess that we are in. The Ceann Comhairle thanked Michael Lowry for putting her in place but she also read out this declaration. She said: "I will apply the rules as laid down by this House in an impartial and fair manner." Any citizen who watches the video on the Oireachtas website can write down word for word what he or she hears and know what he or she sees. Any citizen looking at the Order of Business that day will see it was rammed through? Clearly, a vote was called. It is crystal clear. The Ceann Comhairle then came back after a suspension and declared that, under Standing Orders, she was scrapping questions on promised legislation and indeed a Bill proposed by a Government TD. She just declared it was going.”
“The journalist of long-standing, Sam Smyth, wrote a really powerful article for The Currency . If Members have not read it, they all should. At the end of that piece, he wrote: "Lowry broke a sacred trust with the Irish people as a government minister, as was repeatedly highlighted by the Moriarty Tribunal." Yet after all this history, Lowry has re-emerged on the political stage as a would-be kingmaker. Mary Lou McDonald read into the record the comments of Michael Lowry to "Tipperary Live" where he boasted that he had singularly negotiated the elevation of Verona Murphy to the position of Ceann Comhairle. Micheál Martin was absolutely determined that the only partner he would have with Fine Gael would be Michael Lowry and his Independents. He was not one bit interested in the talks with the Labour Party or the Social Democrats.”
“What I will say to the Ceann Comhairle now is that under protest, I am taking the 30 seconds. To be clear, every party should have the right to decide who speaks for them on the Order of Business. This is blatant what is happening here. The Taoiseach does not want to be held to account, so the Government Chief Whip responds. It is treated like some procedural matter. Rather than dealing with the actual business of the Dáil for the week, we will have huge political controversy potentially every Tuesday. This is an attempt to tell every political party who should speak for them on the Order of Business. It is blatant what is happening here, and it was not even passed. We will absolutely oppose the Order of Business because it is illegitimate. It is illegal and blatant what happened.”
“I have the transcript here: Is the amendment agreed; It is not agreed; I propose; I ask is the amendment agreed; Tá or Níl; Tá; The question is carried; Votáil. It is clear; that is the transcript. That is the Dáil transcript.”
“No, it is not. I am presenting to the Ceann Comhairle, and to be very clear, I am presenting in protest. Any objective assessment of what happened last Tuesday, if you look at the section that dealt with the motion-----”
“What I am saying is that in any objective assessment of the video, you can see with your own eyes and hear clearly tells you that the motion was not passed. It is an amendment to the motion that was passed.”
“Before the Ceann Comhairle calls the Chief Whip, I wish to raise a point of order. The proposed Order of Business includes changes to Standing Orders. I have made a submission to the Ceann Comhairle on this issue on behalf of Sinn Féin. It is very clear, looking at the video recording of what happened last Tuesday, that the motion on Standing Orders was not passed. It was an amendment to the motion that was passed. It is absolutely clear that any suggestion to move now to the Order of Business and implement changes to Standing Orders is illegitimate. I am asking that the Ceann Comhairle not proceed and that she remove those changes to Standing Orders, particularly the provisions regarding so-called Other Members' Questions.”