Pa Daly
Kerry · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I thank the Minister of State for coming in to deal with this issue when other colleagues were not available. She will be able to bring her experience of this area to this debate. I am slightly caught for time, so I will try to parse it a little bit. I wish to ask the Minister of State about the harmful content on social media platforms.”
“While we know violence against women is a crisis and femicide in Ireland is a crisis, it is overwhelmingly men who carry out these acts. These are men of all cultures, races and ethnicities. However, social media giants have a responsibility and are clearly not stepping up to the plate. They are not complying with their obligations.”
“The Digital Services Act was introduced. It was to ensure a safe, predictable and trusted online environment and to prioritise greater activity and online safety. There is the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 to protect children and the public from harmful and illegal content. There is a danger.”
“We are running over time but I will make one more point. If, as it provides in the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act, we are to protect children and adults from online conduct, how does it look as an example to younger people in particular when this content is still allowed to be there?”
“Somebody even said that they hope these comments are not going to be deleted to suit one's ideology, which they misspelt. That is the kind of narrative that is going on. They are mocking her beliefs and her. It is similar to what is being investigated by the police in Britain.”
“Bhíos ag caint le healaíontóir i gCiarraí níos luaithe um thráthnóna. Labhair sé liom mar gheall ar na mothúcháin a bhaineann le AI. Dúirt sé liom it could help to generate ideas, layouts and content more quickly, leaving more time to focus on strategy and working with clients.”
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“There is no point in sitting down with energy companies, who not only have to make profit this year, but have to make increased profit next year and the year after that, without proper structures to hold them to account and challenge their narrative that it is all due to the war in Ukraine or to network charges. They should be held to account and have to justify their price increases year on year and month after month.”
“I am glad the Minister mentioned the discussion he is having with the energy companies. Many of them say they had to put up prices due to the network charges, but network charges only rose by about €29 this year. At a recent meeting of the climate committee, the justification for the price hikes by, for example, Energia came under scrutiny. There are concerns that these are being used as an excuse but we in Sinn Féin introduced legislation to enable the Government to hold energy companies to account and it was rejected by the Government.”
“Net electricity prices are the highest while gas prices are the fifth highest. Households pay, on average, €350 per year more for electricity and €150 more for gas. There has been a spate of price hikes across the summer. Will the Government consider reintroducing the supports?”
“One of the frustrating things about the report from the steering group is that it is just an interim report. We have been told there will be a roadmap. If you were to be cynical, you would say that we first had a report and will now have a roadmap that will not be published until some time in 2026. It is really the destination that we are looking for. The report reaffirms what we have been saying for a long time, which is that no more than lip service is being paid to the crisis and that, because the energy credits were ripped away, energy bills are set to soar. The Minister mentioned energy bills. According to the report, energy bills will reach €1,900 with a real risk they will rise again, given what we saw over the summer. Our energy prices are already some of the highest in Europe.”
“I ask the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment about the reforms to the energy market he is considering to reduce high energy costs. An interim report from the national energy affordability task force was published earlier this week. It was a disappointment to many because it identifies some of the well-known problems in Ireland's dysfunctional energy market but offers no solutions. Households are facing a fresh round of price hikes just as the Government rips away supports. They need action. This seems to be a tick-box exercise to distract from the fact that there is no intention to tackle the energy rip-off.”
“(10) The Board shall, within 6 months of the commencement of this Act and annually thereafter, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report detailing: (a) the purposes for which the payment was applied including a breakdown of project type; (b) the purposes for which the pay will be applied in the next year including a breakdown of project type; (c) the impact on consumer electricity prices; the report shall be subject to review by the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts. (11) The Board will ensure that any borrowing under this Act does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments, and shall publish an annual statement confirming compliance to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.”.”.”
“(8) Nothing in this Act shall be construed as permitting the sale or transfer of capital stock to any person other than: (a) the Ministers specified in subsection (5); (b) employees of the Board or trustees on their behalf under an approved scheme; any future proposal to alter this arrangement shall require prior approval by resolution of both Houses of the Oireachtas. (9) The Board may only use this payment to invest in projects that have been identified as part of a prioritisation framework which encompasses— (a) congestion softeners in areas of high congestion, (b) security encompassing hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment, (c) basic needs encompassing residential construction, (d) exceptional cases of public interest, and will exclude grid infrastructure upgrades or connections for data centres.”
“I move amendment No. 2: In page 4, lines 32 to 36, to delete all words from and including “and” in line 32 down to and including line 36 and substitute the following: “ “(c) up to such amount as will enable such employees or trustees to maintain the same percentage of capital stock they held of the total capital stock issued by the Board that they held immediately before the relevant stock was issued, and (d) the approved scheme shall be subject to independent audit and the findings shall be published within 3 months of completion.”
“Checks and balances need to be put in place particularly through the provisions of amendment No. 2 where we feel that public investment should be delivering for the public good. I know that the €1.5 billion was announced in the revised NDP in July. When it was announced, the Government said that it would be targeted at expanding onshore and offshore capacity and the distribution network infrastructure. Our amendments, particularly amendment No. 2, seek to ensure that this is the case and that past mistakes are not repeated.”
“It is now ten months since Storm Éowyn took place and it was a bit rich of the Government to come in to say that it needed to do it all in a hurry when the Bill was not published until the middle of the summer. We are now being pushed into a corner with the suggestion that there is a panic that we have to do it all in a hurry. We should be getting it right before we agree to all of the legislation without what we feel are necessary amendments. Due to the constraints on the grid, there has been a history of failing to plan properly and treating affordability as an afterthought. Since June, there have been a series of energy bill hikes from various companies. One even increased its bills on two occasions. The corporate balance sheet certainly seems to have been the priority.”
“(11) The Board will ensure that any borrowing under this Act does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments, and shall publish an annual statement confirming compliance to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.”.”. While we agree with the need for more borrowing and we agree that there should be more investment in the grid, this should be done with some safeguards in place because we do not believe that they have been in place. The priorities are not there and there should be a prioritisation framework. Amendment No. 2 addresses this issue in the Bill. I accept that the committee agreed to waive pre-legislative scrutiny even though there was opposition to that.”
“The amendment also states: (10) The Board shall, within 6 months of the commencement of this Act and annually thereafter, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report detailing: (a) the purposes for which the payment was applied [so necessary oversight] including a breakdown of project type; (b) the purposes for which the pay will be applied in the next year including a breakdown of project type; (c) the impact [if any] on consumer electricity prices; the report shall be subject to review by the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts.”
“It will include security, which includes hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment because it is important the structures are put in place. There has been a lot of talk recently about wastewater treatment systems around the State, or the lack of them. It is also about housing, where people who have made agreements to go into their homes have not been able to do so because the connections have not been there. It also prioritises the basic needs of residential construction and exceptional cases of public interest, as I mentioned, which also relate to the previous amendment.”
“2, which the Minister dealt with, involves direct State investment, or money that is taken from the State coffers, in order to finance improvements that are needed. While there is overlap between the two amendments, this is more important because it relates to the investment from the Central Fund. As noted by the Oireachtas Library and Research Service, the Bill as drafted provides for the relevant authorisation of funds totalling €1.5 billion. There is no other mechanism to ensure Oireachtas oversight or control of the use of money from the Central Fund for the purchase of capital stock. Our amendment deals with a prioritisation framework, which has been done in other countries, notably, the Netherlands.”
“I will come back in regarding a number of matters. One relates to what the Minister said about PR 6. While I appreciate that what was published during the summer is a draft decision, that is all we have to go on at the moment. We do not fully know what will be there but under the CRU's draft decision, households and SMEs will see their electricity network charges increase, while large energy users, such as data centres, will see reductions of up to 18%. It also stated that the grid upgrades are being driven in part by growing electricity demands from the same data centres, whose usage has increased by 400% since 2015. In effect, the entities that are driving the increased need for grid investment will be asked to contribute less while the public pays more. Amendment No.”
“There should be published an annual statement confirming compliance, and that would be laid before the Houses. Subsection (4B) enhances the transparency, accountability and oversight which, of course, is necessary. This lack of oversight was recently highlighted in the Bill's digest. Subsection (4C), as I have said, ensures that it does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs.”
“Our amendment inserts the new subsections to include the congestion softeners in paragraphs (a), (b), (c) and (d), and proposes that within six months of the commencement of this Act a report would be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas detailing the amount borrowed under section 4(4) of the Act of 2001, the purposes for it, the projected borrowing required for next year including a breakdown of project type and the impact on consumer electricity prices. That is vitally important in a time where we have seen the supports ripped away. Even though prices on the wholesale energy markets have been reduced by 70% over the last three years, electricity bills have increased by around the same amount. We must also ensure that borrowing under this Act does not result, as I said, in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments.”
“Grid capacity in recent years has been gobbled up by data centres and other key strategic priorities such as housing are suffering as a result. As ESB Networks itself warned against this in a recent appearance at the committee, Sinn Féin wants to ensure that the enhanced investment is targeted towards the social good rather than corporate interests. The prioritisation framework is modelled on the Dutch authority for consumers and markets, ACM, model, which refers to congestion softeners, security encompassing Garda stations, hospitals and wastewater treatment, basic needs, including residential construction, and exceptional cases of public interest. It excludes connections for data centres. They are not a priority in contrast to the priority for the need for housing.”
“Of course, we want to solve the housing crisis, end the energy rip-off, bring down prices for good and create an energy market that is based on a fair funding model in which energy is treated as a public good, as I have said. Amendment No. 1 proposes three subsections. Subsection (4A) mandates that the increased borrowing capacity of the ESB from €12 billion to €17 billion is targeted towards the public good rather than being gobbled up by data centres. The increased borrowing capacity will allow the ESB to access the capital required to fulfil the investment required in the network as outlined in the draft decision in price review 6, PR6, a final determination on which is due towards the end of this year.”
“The need for urgent action and investment in the grid is clear. This amendment relates to a series of Acts going back to 1954. It concerns the framework that will guide the borrowing capacity of the ESB into the future. It is, of course, the State-owned agency but it should be mandated with a focus on the common good. It will seek to safeguard against future investment in and development on the grid that may repeat the mistakes of the past, which we do not want to do. The grid needs upgrading at present and while Sinn Féin is totally in favour of increased investment in the grid, it must be done in a way that covers and supports ordinary workers and families and works for the common good of people in the State. A grid that is fit for purpose is a linchpin of many of our priorities.”
“(4C) The Board shall ensure that any borrowing under this Act does not result in an increase in domestic electricity tariffs beyond inflationary adjustments, and shall publish an annual statement confirming compliance to be laid before the Houses of the Oireachtas.”.”. Due to decades of underinvestment, our energy system is not fit for purpose. With rip-off costs and a regressive approach to financing, our electricity grid is another in a long line of Government failures. It has been plagued by critical infrastructure deficits. Millions of euro have been wasted in renewable energy every year, driving up the cost of energy. One of the current members of Government described the Government's approach in recent years as navel-gazing and sitting on their hands. It has also stopped people moving into their homes.”
“(4B) The Board shall, within 6 months of the commencement of this Act and annually thereafter, lay before the Houses of the Oireachtas a report detailing: (a) the amount borrowed under section 4(4) of the Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Act 1954; (b) the purposes for which such borrowing was applied including a breakdown of project type; (c) the projected borrowing required for the next year including a breakdown of project type; (d) the impact on consumer electricity prices; (e) the report shall be subject to review by the Oireachtas Committee on Climate, Energy and the Environment and the Oireachtas Committee of Public Accounts.”
“I move amendment No. 1: In page 3, between lines 19 and 20, to insert the following: “(2) To insert new subsections after subsection (4): “(4A) The Board shall borrow to invest in projects on the basis of a prioritisation framework which encompasses— (a) congestion softeners in areas of high congestion, (b) security encompassing hospitals, Garda stations, water safety and wastewater treatment, (c) basic needs encompassing residential constuction, (d) exceptional cases of public interest, and will exclude grid infrastructure upgrades or connections for data centres.”
“He said that if blacks and Jews were good enough to fight and die beside, they were good enough to live beside and work beside also. There was also Sr. Stanislaus, of course, and Hugh O'Flaherty, who said, "God has no country". The lessons were set out to the Government years ago that there should have been more State-run accommodation. Unfortunately, nothing was done about that in the previous Dáil and a lot of the problems fall squarely at the feet of the Government.”
“There is nothing new to this type of misinformation. I recently read a debate in Britain from 40 or 50 years ago where Roy Jenkins said, "a few people whether, out of political opportunism or personal inadequacy, have deliberately whipped up prejudice, playing on fear and ignorance, and blaming immigrants for problems which are none of their making - but which stemmed from previous parsimony in housing, schools and welfare services." Similarly, a Welsh politician once said that if you do not have a programme, a bogeyman will do. Who better to pick on than people who are voiceless and, crucially, poor, such as asylum seekers? In my constituency, we admired people such as Mike Quill from Kerry, a union leader in New York who always preached an anti-racist message.”
“Unfortunately, we have turned a corner in this State. During the past week, we have had convictions for racially motivated murders and the lives of babies put in danger in Drogheda, where there was no way out of a burning building except down a stairs. Some of the online commentary in response to the attack in Drogheda were: "the person who did it must be staying there", "it was an inside job", "they did it themselves", "immigrants looking for better accommodation", "scum will get a nicer hotel now" and "there are other issues that are more shocking". Are they more shocking than attacking children in a burning building or attempted murder? It is unbelievable to have heard this in the same week Sr. Stanislaus Kennedy passed away. If people keep spreading hate and misinformation, these attacks are inevitable.”
“The Government should provide €450 in energy credits on electricity bills now and not merely announce that it will publish an energy affordability plan in 2026 with action to follow God knows when. We want investment in the grid to be prioritised and delivered urgently. The stakes are high. This cannot be another blank cheque for Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael to repeat their failures. The Bill must look at and deliver for housing, for renewable energy, for affordability and for ordinary householders. It cannot be another missed opportunity. We will continue to fight for a fair energy system and one that works for people and not for profit.”
“Over 300,000 households are in debt and there has been another round of crippling energy price hikes but the supports to ordinary people have been ripped away. The Minister of State said that this Bill will not reduce energy bills and will have no influence on that, which is a pity. When the gap between Irish retail prices and wholesale prices is one of the biggest in the world, energy companies have serious questions to answer about price gouging. We have repeatedly provided the Government with measures that would hold the energy companies to account, but they have been ignored. We deserve much better than what the Government is willing to give. We certainly need more than an interim report that only diagnosed some of the problems but delivered no solutions.”
“However, not only have these calls fallen on deaf ears, but the draft decision on price review, PR6, which the Minister of State mentioned in his speech, will only further ingrain this unfairness. Under the CRU's draft price review, households and SMEs will see their network charges increase while large data users like data centres will see reductions of up to 18%. It is not just unfair; it is scandalous. The very companies that have driven up demand have been asked to pay less and ordinary people to pay more. This is a political choice and we believe it is the wrong one. I emphasise the very real crisis faced by ordinary workers and families when it comes to heating their homes this winter.”
“We hope our amendments will address those concerns ensuring that the ESB's investment is directed towards the right political choices of public good rather than the corporate balance system. This Bill is an opportunity to address the failings in our current system. We believe the amendments are required to ensure we do not fuel them. I use this opportunity to call on the Government to address the deep unfairness in the cost, and to maintain and upgrade the grid. Data centres consume 22% of Ireland's energy demand, up from 5% in 2015. EirGrid projects will rise to one third by 2034. A single data centre can use as much electricity as Kilkenny city. However, under the current model a disproportionate burden falls on ordinary households. We have repeatedly urged the Government to restructure network charges and correct this inequity.”
“Even the Government's own officials have issued stark warnings about a business-as-usual approach. In May, the Secretary General of the Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment warned the Government that it must make a political choice between new homes and data centres. Similarly, officials in the Department of public expenditure also warned that Ireland's rapid growth in data centres is driving up household bills and gobbling up our energy capacity. All of the renewable energy increase that we will get will be taken by data centres. That is not right. While increased investment is essential, it must deliver for ordinary workers and families.”
“This will help to tackle the regressive nature of the current funding model because ordinary households should not continue to shoulder a disproportionate burden, while those who are causing energy surges, such as data centres, are left relatively off the hook. These reports should be laid before the Oireachtas initially within six months of the Act passing and then annually. We would also address the mismanagement of grid expansion to date. Successive Governments have rolled out the red carpet for data centres, while other essential infrastructure, such as housing, has been overlooked. Sinn Féin is not the only one sounding the alarm bell on this. The energy regulator recently highlighted the fact that the ESB Networks substation at Castlebaggot, which was initially intended to support new housing, was handed over to data centres.”
“Sinn Féin recognises the damage that has been caused by the failure to deliver on our grid and the results of that. Sinn Féin would mandate the planning, oversight and accountability that has been missing in the past, including a new responsibility for the ESB to provide a report on not just where the money has been spent, but where it will go in the future. This is the type of much-needed detail that has been missing, which is essential for credibility and certainty. To ensure this Government can no longer continue to treat energy affordability as an afterthought, our amendments will require the impact on consumer prices to be made clear.”
“In fact, grid constraints are placing urgently needed housing under threat. We saw that 80 families were prevented from moving into their homes last summer due to the lack of an electricity connection. They remain locked out. Recently, at an Oireachtas committee hearing, the ESB itself warned that limited capacity was placing new housing at risk. Grid constraints also place our vast potential for renewables and energy independence in jeopardy. Ireland saved €1.2 billion last year but we lost nearly a further €500 million in wasted energy. Ireland's crippled grid acts as a barrier to a thriving economy and balanced regional development, not only with electricity connections but wastewater treatment systems as well. All of this means progress is at a standstill when the reality is we need to be going a lot faster.”
“Ireland is massively over-dependent on expensive imported fossil fuels leading to some of the highest energy prices in the EU. I do not think anyone will disagree with that. Ordinary workers and families are being ripped off because the energy bills they are charged here are, on average, €300 to €500 more than other countries. Unsurprisingly, the number of households in energy debt is at a record level having doubled in four short years. There are now 300,000 households that cannot afford to heat their homes or turn the lights on. The crisis will only deepen further following the impact of another round of energy price hikes combined with the cruel decision to withdraw and rip away the energy credits this winter. The constraints on our grid do not just impact energy affordability.”
“For example, just like the summer economic statement, the revised national development plan and budget 2026, it is not only devoid of detail on the infrastructure the investment will deliver, but there is also no guidance on what projects should be prioritised. That is important and I will get to it. There is no mechanism for Oireachtas oversight, accountability or independent audit. As a result, this important investment of taxpayers' money will be vulnerable to waste and exploitation. It could fail to deliver the critical infrastructure that we need now and into the future. Ramming this Bill through without addressing these shortcomings will not undo the decades of failures. We should be careful not to repeat them. Let us look at the position we have today.”
“We all saw that when we had total control and State ownership of our energy markets, we had some of the lowest prices in Europe. Now, we have some of the highest. The Government must ensure there is no return to the snail's pace, stop-start approach of successive Governments. It must be subject to sufficient scrutiny and safeguards so that the public good is prioritised rather than treated as collateral damage. This is why the legislation is so important. The Electricity (Supply) (Amendment) Bill 2025 legislates to allow for the €1.5 billion Exchequer investment in the ESB and furthermore to allow the ESB Group to increase its debt ceiling to €17 billion. It is important and necessary but how the money is spent really matters. The Bill mirrors the same strategic errors of previous Governments in potentially repeating our mistakes.”
“Due to paralysis, it is plagued by critical infrastructure deficits - we all saw this in the storms of last winter - that not only result in hundreds of millions of euro in wasted renewable energy every year, driving up the cost of energy, but have already stopped people moving into their own homes. The need for urgent action and significant investment in our grid is clear. As the Minister of State said, we need to future-proof it for generations to come, but in doing so it must be fair and just to the generations to come. While it is essential that we take a determined and ambitious approach, it is equally critical that the Government does not repeat past mistakes. The choices must shape Ireland's energy future in a way that delivers first for ordinary people and not for corporate interests.”
“I did not get a chance earlier to pay tribute to and congratulate Catherine Connolly. I also pay tribute to Sr. Stan who was a Listowel woman and a Kerry woman. In a week when we saw the outrageous attack on the house in Drogheda and convictions for racially motivated murders, I would love to know what she would have thought about the way the country is going. I pay tribute to her for all of her work with immigrants and the homeless over the years. Due to decades of underinvestment, bad planning and mismanagement by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments, Ireland's energy system is not fit for purpose. Alongside rip-off costs and a deeply regressive approach to financing, our electricity grid is another example in a long line of Government failures.”
“We have been waiting far too long. It threatens marine life and biodiversity but also creates significant uncertainty for our coastal and fishing communities. They need to be seen as partners, co-producers and active authors of this process. It is the only way it will work.”
“In addition, they should be treated as the experts and partners they have the potential to be, but many fishers are locked out. Under the Government's current plan, in order for a fishing vessel to be used as a guard vessel, the fisherman must deregister the vessel, apply to go on the commercial register and then, should they wish to fish again, reapply both for a load line certificate and to go back on the fishing register. This is bureaucracy that, in practice, stops the communities in the major economic and infrastructural developments in their area. It is not a just transition. It is not like this in other EU countries. Will the Minister of State commit to breaking down the barriers for fishing vessels to act as guard vessels? I also take this opportunity to ask once again where is the marine protected areas legislation.”
“We believe the Government must back our coastal communities, not abandon them. The system also needs major reform, including a dedicated Minister for fisheries and marine, a "Fish Ireland office in Brussels and a root and branch review of the Department. BIM also needs to do an impact assessment in order to protect the industry and a long-term strategy to sustainably support the fishing industry. Our offshore, inshore and agriculture sectors must be supported. We must ban destructive factory vessels, ensure fair quota distribution and promote sustainable growth. When it comes to Ireland's offshore energy ambition in particular, fishing and coastal communities must see the benefits. Community benefit funds should be expanded and ring-fenced for this purpose specifically.”
“We admire their resilience and commend their calls for fairness and accountability. We are calling on the Government to stand strongly with them. We need a firm stance in Brussels. It is high time the EU does what is right, acting decisively, and where rogue behaviour exists, it must stand firm. The Government must make it clear that if this overfishing continues, sanctions, trade leverage and access restrictions will be on the table. We also call for an urgent financial aid package to support the industry through the crisis. Sinn Féin has proposed a €10 million contingency fund and €10 million in capital for harbour improvements. Speaking to our local councillor in west Kerry, Robert Brosnan, he has also called for the tuna fish quota for inshore grants so that they can diversify and more infrastructure for fishers in west Kerry.”
“In one recent deal, Norway was granted 200,000 tonnes of blue whiting in Irish waters while Ireland received less than 60,000 tonnes. That is worth €50 million for Norway versus €15 million for Ireland. This is unjust and it is outrageous. It is not like the EU is unaware of the devastating consequences of its actions in response to such rogue state behaviour. It has admitted that continued overfishing could force a zero-catch mackerel quota by 2027, given the scale of these inflated quotas. This is a cliff edge that is simply not surmountable without decimating livelihoods and communities as things stand. We have also heard from fish producers that over 2,000 jobs could be lost. This will also affect the inshore fishers. Let me make this clear: Sinn Féin stands with fishing and coastal communities.”
“To add to this, some of the most egregious damage has and continues to be caused by the rogue actions of other states through overfishing. Overfishing by states such as Norway, the Faroes, Russia, Iceland and Britain have had a devastating impact on Ireland's fishing stocks. Over 1 million tonnes of mackerel have been caught above scientific advice in the past five years according to the North Atlantic Pelagic Advocacy Group. These are not just numbers; these are livelihoods, communities and a proud heritage under threat. What has the European Commission done in response? Worse than nothing. Not only has it failed to impose sanctions, these same states have been rewarded with greater access to water off the west of Ireland.”
“These fishing communities have played a critical role in our economy and culture for generations but are now facing an existential threat following proposed cuts to our fishing quota and the Common Fisheries Policy. Just as we must protect marine life and biodiversity, we must also prioritise the communities that have lived alongside them for generations. Science and sustainability are not incompatible with thriving coastal communities; both can exist harmoniously. However, due to decades of EU inaction and diplomatic failure by governments, Ireland's fishing industry is facing a crisis. Devastating quota reductions, combined with the loss of traditional fishing grounds, represent serious threats. Quota cuts could wipe out over €200 million in value next year, with mackerel losses up to €80 million alone.”
“Sinn Féin has long called for this debate and I am glad to finally have the chance to stand up for coastal and fishing communities. I thank our fisheries spokesman, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, for pushing for this debate.”
“They need the practical life skills and educational tasks that take place in early intervention settings, which will scaffold and support the children to sit and attend to a simple task, such as washing their hands unaided. The work that takes place in early intervention is child-led and is a million miles away from the mainstream preschool setting. Is what they are currently being provided with an appropriate education? Their parents say it is not because AIM is not monitored and they feel their children are missing out. It is a plan B but it is not working.”
“When the Government has failed to deliver early intervention classes, as a backup or plan B or C, some parents have been offered AIM support. Many of them consider that provision unsatisfactory because they then have to source some home support. Even then, there are delays in getting the home support registered with and approved by the Teaching Council. Unfortunately, that system is not as speedy as it should be. While the AIM staff are qualified childcare workers, they have had no training in special education provision. Most of the time, according to a mother I spoke to, the children are left to their own devices. The educational tasks taking place in mainstream classes have little to no relevance to children with autism.”
“I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I appreciate that he is only standing in for his ministerial colleague. He said there has been significant investment but we are just not seeing that locally in Kerry, which has one of the lowest numbers of early intervention classes in the State. An early intervention class includes a qualified primary school teacher and SNAs teaching the children. As one mother said to me, this setting of targeted and specific expertise can be life-changing for children. This is why there is frustration for parents. They are hearing about all the great investment that is coming but they are not seeing the progress in their community, particularly, it seems, in County Kerry.”