PJ Murphy
Agricultural Panel · Fine Gael · Ireland
“If issues regarding the day-to-day operation of licensing systems cannot be discussed at the appropriate forum, it is difficult to know where they can be discussed, other than on the floor of this House. I understand a further phase of stakeholder engagement is planned for the coming months.”
“I thank the Minister of State very much for her answer. Although I take on board what the Minister of State has said, there is no doubt but that there are glaring inconsistencies right across the country, even from division to division and from station to station, in the implementation of the existing rules on the granting of firearms lic…”
“These concerns were reinforced at a recent briefing in the audiovisual room in Leinster House, hosted by the National Association of Regional Game Councils, NARGC, and the Firearms Users Representative Group, FURG, which was well attended by Members from across the political divide and from all parties.”
“These concerns include lost or misplaced applications; delays in processing; additional documentation requirements that go way beyond the published guidelines; applicants being told they own too many firearms, despite meeting the legal requirements; and the failure to provide formal refusal letters outlining the reasons for decisions.”
“I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Ardagh, to the House and take this opportunity to congratulate her on her recent appointment. I wish her all the best in her new role. I raise an issue of significant concern to many law-abiding firearm licenceholders throughout rural Ireland.”
“I ask the Minister of State, as a matter of urgency, to meet representatives of FURG and the NARGC, the largest rural pursuits membership organisation in the country and the second-largest sports organisation in Ireland in terms of membership after the GAA, to hear directly from them regarding the challenges facing licensed firearms holde…”
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“First, on behalf of the Fine Gael group, I express my sympathies to the Minister of State, Deputy O’Sullivan, and his family on the loss of his sister. As Fine Gael’s spokesperson for biodiversity, I am delighted to speak on the merits of biodiversity week. I am grateful to my party leader and the Tánaiste, Deputy Simon Harris, for appointing me to this position as spokesperson for biodiversity in the Seanad. One of the reasons I first entered politics many years ago was because of my love of the Irish countryside, its flora and fauna and the nature around me and my desire to see it protected. As a farmer and as someone who observes nature both in my own farm and in the Irish countryside on my travels for work every day, I know that agriculture and nature can and must coexist. Indeed, they must go hand in hand.”
“In terms of the means test for the payment, the student's own income is taken into account along with the income of the parents as opposed to the income of the parents only. This is a great pity and disincentivises hardworking students with a good work ethic from working as many hours as possible. At such a young age, when a young person's personality is developing, work should be encouraged to the maximum with the greatest possible reward and should certainly not be a reason for financial penalisation by the State.”
“As the Minister well knows, we have a huge private international education sector, Private schools profit greatly from fee-paying international English language students. These students, or cash cows as they may well be for the private profit-making educational companies, contribute greatly to the pressures on the private housing rental market. I suggest that we look closely at the implementation of a similar system as that in place at the Shawnee State University in Ohio, USA, where all international students are required to be housed in purpose-built student accommodation provided by the educational body in which they are enrolled. I will speak about the earning restrictions for students in receipt of a SUSI payment.”
“A comprehensive two-year module, in which both theory classes and practical lessons behind the wheel are offered, culminates in a theory and practical exam similar to the driver theory test and driving test in this country. Given the importance of driving as a life skill, the achievement of a full licence should carry the same 100-point weighting as any other leaving certificate subject. As the Fine Gael spokesperson on housing in the Seanad, I will touch on the current lack of student accommodation. Purpose-built student accommodation is the single quickest way of taking pressure off the housing situation in this State. Student accommodation can be delivered quickly and economically. Every time we provide a student housing place, we open up a space in the private rental market that would otherwise be occupied by a student.”
“I thank the Minister for coming to the Seanad. I am happy to fully support the motion introduced by my colleagues, Senators Kennelly and Cathal Byrne. As someone who has worked on the ground for many years in both the construction and agricultural sectors, I am very much encouraged by the inclusion in the motion of the promotion of driver education at secondary school. The vast majority of young people who live in rural Ireland have no alternative to driving as a means of getting to work and college. In the state of Illinois, USA, it is mandatory for all public high schools to offer driver education as part of the curriculum.”
“I have spoken on many occasions in this House of the importance of a focus on the development of infrastructure in rural towns and villages. I am glad to see that this framework puts an emphasis on this. For a long time, I have been of the opinion - and I continue to be - that before we can remedy our housing crisis, we must first remedy our infrastructure crisis. This planning framework sets out with a degree of certainty such aspirations and, while no plan is flawless, I am happy to support the adaptation of this plan.”
“Investing in infrastructure in rural areas - whether it be transportation networks, broadband connectivity or essential services - can dramatically transform the landscape of these communities. Improved roads and public transport links can enhance accessibility, making it easier for residents to commute and for businesses to thrive. Fostering inclusive dialogues with rural communities is paramount. It is essential we engage residents in the planning process to ensure their voices are heard and their needs are met. As we consider this vital document, let us remember that the decision we make today will shape the Ireland of tomorrow with regard to the infrastructure and amenities available and the shape of our future communities.”
“It seeks to distribute the growth and investment more equitably across our regions, thereby addressing the disparities that have long existed between the greater Dublin area and provincial Ireland. By doing so, we can invigorate our rural areas, create jobs and enhance the quality of life for all citizens regardless of where they call home. At the heart of this framework lies a crucial emphasis on the development of infrastructure, especially in rural towns, villages and settlements. These communities are the backbone of the nation. They are rich in culture, heritage and potential. However, they often face significant challenges due to underinvestment in critical infrastructure. The revised framework recognises that robust infrastructure is not merely a luxury. It is an essential foundation for growth and prosperity.”
“It is our responsibility to honour and integrate these needs into our planning efforts. In terms of energy security infrastructure, my colleague, Senator Kennelly, will speak in more detail on the LNG terminal proposal. I am also delighted to see that this amended plan makes specific reference to the Galway wastewater strategy, which covers the city and areas such as Moycullen and Athenry. Regrettably, however, I have noticed the absence of any specific reference to the greater Galway main drainage scheme, which was intended to serve my area of south Galway. I ask the Minister of State to engage with Uisce Éireann to see to it that this critical scheme is progressed to site selection stage as a matter of urgency. Overall, however, this framework emphasises the importance, in general, of regional balance.”
“By prioritising renewable energy, enhancing public transport and protecting our natural resources we are not only safeguarding our environment but also paving the way for a resilient economy that can withstand the tests of time. Furthermore, this framework promotes inclusivity. It recognises the necessity of engaging with communities across Ireland, ensuring their voices are heard in the planning process. This is crucial as we forge ahead. We must listen to the voices of all communities, urban and rural, and ensure their needs are met in terms of planning, transport, energy, water and wastewater infrastructure. Every community has unique needs. Some areas, such as my constituency in south-east Galway, are greatly in need of investment in wastewater infrastructure, while in other areas we see massive deficits in the energy supply networks.”
“It reflects our collective aspirations and the shared responsibility we carry as the stewards of the Irish landscape. In recent years, we have witnessed the challenges posed by rapid urbanisation, climate change and evolving social dynamics. These challenges demand a comprehensive and forward-thinking approach to planning. The revised framework addresses these issues head-on, offering a roadmap that balances economic development with environmental stewardship and urban growth with rural revitalisation. One of the most commendable aspects of this draft is the commitment to sustainability. It emphasises the need for a low-carbon future advocating for smart growth and green infrastructure.”
“I thank the Minister of State for joining us. What we have before us in this revised national planning framework is a document that holds the potential to transform our nation's landscape, economy and communities for generations to come. We must consider our fundamental duty to the citizens of the entire country, focusing not only on those who wish to live in an urban setting but also those who choose to live in the many rural towns, villages and farms in this country. This framework is an opportunity to create a sustainable, inclusive and thriving environment where every individual can flourish regardless of the area in which they choose to live. The national planning framework is not merely a set of guidelines; it is a vision for our future.”
“I ask that the Minister of State familiarise himself with this critical project and put every effort and the resources necessary into progressing this scheme to planning submission stage before the end of the year.”
“Eight years and €4 million in taxpayers' money later, we the people of south Galway have still seen no physical progress on the scheme. If there is a bad flood this winter - we have had a number of such floods over the past 30 years - family homes and businesses, thousands of acres of agricultural land, farmyards and slatted tanks will yet again be flooded. This will have devastating human, environmental and financial consequences for our local area. The Galway to Limerick railway track will flood and be closed. The M18 Galway to Limerick motorway will also be flooded, not to mention numerous local roads. This will all have dire consequences for our region. This much-needed project has met with successive delays and setbacks over the past eight years. We are, however, slowly moving in the right direction.”
“I wish the Minister of State a happy birthday. Although stated by my colleague Senator Rabbitte, I am indeed here to speak about the south Galway and Gort lowlands flood relief scheme and the painstakingly slow pace of progress on this project since the engineering consultants were first appointed in December 2017. That is over eight years ago. This project is critically important. The large-scale flood relief scheme still has not reached the planning submission stage. Since the inception stage, more than €4 million has been spent on the preparation of the scheme in the context of, for example, project and climate modelling by Trinity College Dublin, engineering works, work by engineering and environmental consultants and ground investigation work.”
“I call on the Minister to cease this regressive action and for the working chimneys and solid-fuel fireplaces to be reinstated in all local authority-owned homes that are not served with piped gas heating.”
“The last thing I will touch on today is what I consider to have been a very shortsighted act which was carried out on a large number of local authority houses in recent years, that is, the blocking up of fully functional chimneys and solid-fuel fireplaces to achieve a particular BER rating. This act, which was in many cases carried out with no consultation with tenants, left thousands of homes with no source of heat in the absence of electricity. Thousands of local authority tenants around Ireland sat for days and weeks in the cold without heat after the storm. We took away the emergency backup plan. When it comes to heating your home, you always need an emergency backup plan.”
“Unlike here, however, just 1.2% of the students at the University of Rzeszów are accommodated in the private rental market. More than 98% are accommodated in purpose-built student accommodation, which is not only better for the students themselves but takes massive pressure off the private rental market. Before a college or a private institute of education in that city can make a course place available to an international student, they must first display to the relevant authorities that they have at their disposal purpose-built student accommodation to house that student. This is a model we are going to have to look at very seriously in this country.”
“Irish colleges and universities profit massively from the intake of fee-paying international students who also contribute to the pressure on the housing rental market. Approximately 40,400 international students were enrolled in higher education institutes in Ireland in 2024, with a further 128,400 international students enrolled in private English-language schools throughout Ireland. While this is a massive profit-making industry for these colleges, we cannot underestimate the pressure this is putting on the availability of housing in this State. Let us look for a moment at the city of Rzeszów in Poland which, just like Dublin, markets itself internationally as a destination to study. That city is alive with students and they are the lifeblood of the city’s economy.”
“Local area plans are not put in place for unserviced villages and, due to environmental concerns, on-site packaged treatment plants are no longer acceptable to most local authorities for private housing developments. I urge the Minister to use all available resources to put in place wastewater treatment facilities in all Irish towns and villages as a matter of urgency. The next thing I wish to discuss is student accommodation in college towns such as Galway, Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Maynooth, etc. Students are competing in the local housing rental market for accommodation, where as little as 5% in many cases are accommodated in on-campus or college-owned accommodation. Needless to say, this is putting massive pressure on the rental sectors in these places.”
“In a rural parish such as my own, which has two small, unserviced villages, namely, Ardrahan and Laban, with a large rural hinterland dotted with old farmhouses and once-off rural houses that have been built over the past 25 years, a generation of young people are growing up faced with the reality that due to the lack of wastewater infrastructure in their home villages, they will be forced to leave their native place to find housing elsewhere. While we have a housing crisis in rural Ireland, it is a housing crisis caused by an infrastructure crisis. We have the land to build on and the people to do the building, but our towns and villages, which either remain unserviced or the current plants have reached capacity, are closed for development.”
“The scheme was intended to provide wastewater treatment for Athenry, Clarinbridge, Kilcolgan, Craughwell, Ardrahan, Laban and Ballinderreen. However, since 2014, these plans seem to have sat on a shelf somewhere in the offices of Irish Water. I urge the Minister to ensure those plans are progressed to site selection and planning stage as a matter of urgency. To date, we have relied on once-off rural housing with stand-alone septic tanks or similar on-site wastewater treatment to house our people in rural Ireland. However, we all know that for numerous reasons, not least the preservation of our countryside, this housing model is not sustainable long term into the future. Therefore, I ask the Minister where our rural young people will live.”
“There are a considerable number of towns and villages across rural Ireland that are currently serviced with municipal wastewater treatment plants that have reached capacity. The towns and villages that do not find themselves on the current capital plan are now closed to development. These include the key Galway town of Ballinasloe, where the wastewater treatment plant has now reached capacity, as well as Mountbellew, Glenamaddy, Ballygar and Gort. All of those towns are now closed to development due to the lack of capacity in existing plants. The same is true for Kilkishen in County Clare. In advance of responsibilities being handed over to Irish Water in 2024, substantial work had been done by Galway County Council to develop plans for an east Galway main drainage scheme, which is now called the greater Galway drainage strategy.”
“Two years ago, as part of a pilot scheme, €21 million was made available by the State to Uisce Éireann for the provision of wastewater treatment facilities in two of the villages in the district, namely, Craughwell and Clarinbridge. To date, nothing has happened to progress these projects and these villages remain at a standstill. In my neighbouring county of Clare, the villages of Broadford and Cooraclare were allocated funding through the same pilot scheme. Having spoken to my colleague, Deputy Cooney, I can tell the House that in that county, there are massive levels of frustration at the painstakingly slow pace of progress by Uisce Éireann in the development of that infrastructure.”
“I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and thank him for coming to the Seanad to discuss the current housing situation. As the Fine Gael Seanad spokesperson for housing, I raise the issue of wastewater infrastructure across rural Ireland. I will use my own local electoral area of Gort-Kinvarra in south County Galway as the perfect example of a district where the building of houses is at a virtual standstill due to the lack of wastewater infrastructure. Within the district, there are 14 recognised towns and villages, of which only two, namely, Gort and Kinvarra, are serviced with wastewater treatment plants. The other 12 are effectively closed to development due to the lack of this critical infrastructure.”
“If we want to get serious about assisting with greenhouse gas emissions on a global level, we had better stop the soft talk about reducing the national herd and get more serious about increasing the production of our premium-quality, environmentally sustainable agrifood products. We heard earlier that there is concrete evidence that we can protect our biodiversity while farming in a productive way. The EPA water quality report has shown an improvement in water quality. The Minister has spoken about hedge renewal at a scale we have not seen before, waterways protection and the fantastic farming-with-nature programmes mentioned by Senator Noonan. We can protect and farm simultaneously, and this must be our aim.”
“On top of that, after being used for bedding, the straw dung is then spread out on the land, so it eventually makes its way back into the ground in any event. As a representative of a farming community, I would like to speak about the direction we sometimes appear to be going as a country with one of our most important indigenous sectors. Climate change and greenhouse gas emissions are a global problem and food supply is a global challenge. Eight billion people in the world need to be fed and many of these people want to eat dairy and red meat. For as long as this demand exists, it will be met by some country or another. We in Ireland have the climate, soil, rainfall and expertise required to produce these products with the very lowest possible carbon footprint through our grass-feed model.”
“Unlike the hedgerows in other parts of Ireland, which the Minister mentioned and which are so well protected and funded through this scheme, the existence of our stone walls, their upkeep and maintenance and any associated funding are simply absent from this scheme for the vast majority of western farmers. This is quite contrary to the previous GLAS, which was much better in this regard. Under the straw incorporation measure, tillage farmers are incentivised to plough straw back into the ground at source. As the Minister knows, coming from a tillage area in the east, over the past century and longer, straw has been brought from tillage areas in the south and east of the country to the west for animal bedding. This ill-considered measure has driven straw bedding prices through the roof for western livestock farmers.”
“To break down this allocation, €600,000 between 4,400 beekeepers averages out at €136 each over the five-year period of the scheme, or €27.27 on average per annum per producer who qualifies. That borders on an insult to an industry facing a lot of challenges. I call on the managing authority to properly fund and incentivise the creation of large-scale sanctuaries for the native Irish honeybee through financial incentives for farmers and landowners as well as the designation of all State-owned land to this status. Leaving aside the issue of delayed payments under ACRES, which I know the Minister is on top of and which is a legacy problem, I will focus on important omissions in the scheme design. I come from south County Galway, the heart of stone wall country.”
“Young farmers must be encouraged to work consecutively with two or more retiring farmers of adjoining land with a long-term goal of the consolidation of those parcels of land. I would like to take a closer look at some of the other Pillar 1 intervention payments and allocations and some opportunities we may be missing. I will start with the meagre €600,000 allocated to the apiculture sector to assist 4,400 Irish beekeepers. This critical sector is facing massive challenges through the importation of non-native bees and the associated problems as well as the importation of non-EU honey and honey-like substances sold for a pittance on our supermarket shelves.”
“I congratulate Deputy Heydon on his appointment to his Ministry. I have no doubt he will do a very fine job. I welcome this opportunity to discuss the CAP strategic plan. I will first speak about farm succession and the collaborative farming grant. We must learn from the mistakes in the previous farm retirement scheme in the nineties and early noughties where farmers were required to step away completely from activities on the family farm for fear of loss of payment. That was a most regrettable part of that scheme. We must ensure there are no knock-on effects on non-contributory pensions, etc., for the involvement of retiring farmers in any new scheme. Farm consolidation must form part of any new scheme.”
“However, young Irish Argentines feel somewhat abandoned by their ancestral homeland when they attempt to travel here to study or work. Absolutely no preferential treatment is offered to these fourth and fifth generation members of the Irish diaspora. In a modern Ireland that is desperately short of labour, I would ask that we closely examine the potential to reach out to young Irish Argentines to return to their ancestral home to help to fill some of the vast gaps that we find in our labour market today. I would like to see this objective included in the new strategy for Ireland's diaspora.”
“I welcome the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, and thank him for his attendance today. I congratulate him on his appointment. I take this opportunity to raise the subject of the largely forgotten Irish diaspora in Argentina. Between 1820 and 1920, and assisted in no small way by the Galway and Loughrea man, Fr. Anthony Fahy, more than 100,000 Irish migrants left for Argentina, predominantly from the midlands, Wexford and many parts of the west. Irish migrants have been pioneers in the development of agriculture, the educational system, politics and culture in that country, where Irish Catholic migrants received a welcome like no other. Today, the approximately 650,000 Argentines of Irish descent retain strong cultural ties to their ancestral home through their music, sport, religion and agricultural practices.”
“In a changing Ireland, where the preservation of our traditions is more important than ever, I call on the Minister with responsibility for arts and culture to look at a new funding stream for traditional festivals and the Comhaltas.”
“I raise the issue of funding or lack thereof for traditional music festivals in our towns and villages which will take place from now and throughout the summer and into the autumn. I include in this the county Comhaltas competitions, for example, the Galway County Comhaltas which will be held in my local town of Gort in May. Approximately 6,000 people will attend and perform over the weekend and the cost of hosting the weekend is estimated to be approximately €25,000. Despite having made applications for funding through a number of grants and schemes, including the Creative Ireland grant, the arts grant, the economic grant, the community support scheme and the Creative Ireland open call, to date our local Comhaltas has secured no State assistance.”
“Over the past 15 years we have countless examples where, as part of work through the CIS, active travel or the building of footpaths or greenways, stone walls have been removed by local authorities and not replaced. I want to see a policy implemented for all local authorities for stone walls similar to that for hedgerows, that is, where you remove a metre, you replace a metre. That will cost money, and this money simply must be made available to the western local authorities through the Departments with responsibility for the environment and local government. I would appreciate feedback from the Minister on this request.”
“I worry that for many elderly farmers the task may be just too great and that, if unassisted by the State, these walls will simply lie where they currently are, on the ground. I call on the Minister for agriculture and the Minister for heritage to sit down together on this. I call on them to put together, as a matter of urgency, a package to help with the cost of rebuilding these walls. Just like our Georgian buildings in Dublin and Limerick, our stone walls in the west are an important part of our built heritage, and once gone they will not be replaced. I also wish to speak about the additional funding that is needed by the local authorities in these western counties for road-widening projects. Roadside walls are being taken out and replaced with chain-link fencing simply because that is all that Department funding allows for.”
“Five weeks on from Storm Éowyn, I wish to raise the extent of the damage that was done to our built heritage in the west of Ireland by that storm. Between the counties of Galway, Clare, Mayo and Roscommon, it is estimated that we have approximately 400,000 km of dry stone walls on our roadsides and around our fields. That is enough wall to run the length of the equator ten times over. It is by a long way the largest stone wall network in the world. In kilometre terms, it consists of about nine times more wall than the Great Wall of China when it was at its peak. Our stone walls are currently in tatters and on the ground after the storm. The reconstruction job for many farmers will be a mammoth task.”
“There is a massive demand for housing in these areas. We have the land to build on and the people to build them but our villages are at a standstill. As we have learned through experience, in rural Ireland, villages either grow or die. I call for the Minister for housing to come before the House to give an update on the progress on the wastewater treatment facilities in Craughwell and Clarinbridge and to outline a clear plan for the provision of treatment facilities for all of the other unserviced villages I mentioned.”
“Two years ago, two other settlements, Craughwell and Clarinbridge, were made part of a national pilot scheme to be provided with municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Since their inclusion and the announcement of funding, local representatives have heard nothing from Irish Water at a local level. We have heard no details of any plans to progress with the servicing of those settlements. Leaving those aside, that still leaves Maree, Kilcolgan, Ardrahan, Laban, Ballinderreen, Knockoura, Peterswell, Kilbeacanty, Shinaglish, Kilchreest and Ballymanagh, all unserviced and without any plans for being serviced. No grant of planning permission has been made since 2007 for any housing development schemes in any of these villages. There cannot be, simply because there are not local area plans for these villages, because they remain unserviced.”
“This is my first time to speak in the Chamber since I was elected. I thank everyone who put their faith in me by electing me to this office. I thank my supporters and friends in Ardrahan and south Galway. I especially thank my parents and family who have been a massive support to me throughout my political career to date. I want to address the lack of critical infrastructure, which is greatly restricting the building of homes in the south Galway area. The Gort-Kinvara local electoral area, which I represented on Galway County Council for the past six years, has 14 recognised settlements, of which only two, Gort and Kinvara, the largest towns in the area, are serviced by municipal wastewater treatment facilities.”