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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Every one of 864 lines we hold for Pa Daly, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 17 of 18.
“The programme for Government, which I think the Minister referenced, hinted at an area-based element - another proposal Sinn Féin had. Will the Minister provide more detail about this and how he plans to target low income households, many of which are excluded? Will there be targeting based on income, as we put forward in our fairer retrofit plan? A woman from Dingle contacted me to say how bitterly disappointed she was over the refusal of the SEAI grant. She waited 18 months in total only to be told, based on the report, that she had been refused. She was not pension age, which is why she would not qualify, she said. The SEAI never contacted her, just sent on the report. It is failing to deliver on the 2030 targets. The Government is supposed to retrofit 500,000 homes and install 400,000 heat pumps but it is way off the targets.”
“The retrofitting scheme is clearly not working. We need to increase the number of homes that are retrofitted as part of the Government's retrofitting scheme. Will the Minister please discuss this? Many people are locked out of the scheme - those who need it most in particular - because of the way it is structured. According to a survey in December, many people cannot afford to retrofit their homes because of costs.”
“As the Minister mentioned, the vast majority of renewable energy under the renewable energy support scheme, RESS, is privately owned or publicly owned by other states. It is crazy to think that Norway's state-owned Statkraft and EDF France own more of our offshore resources than we do. Even more of our renewable resources are owned by private corporations. We feel that there should be increased public ownership. What measures is the Government taking to increase public ownership, if any? Furthermore, what will it do to reduce our energy prices, which are some of the highest in Europe?”
“The question is about what other funding models the Minister has in mind. There is a broader issue of the increased investment in public ownership as a means of funding and accelerating the transition. Recent governments have created an energy system where profit maximisation seems to be the most important part of it. With the privatisation of our energy generation, the market share transfer from public to private sector means that profits have flown into corporate dividends. Is the Minister happy with that model, which has resulted in increased bills for ordinary people? The transition presents an opportunity now for us to reform our energy system for the betterment of all, but it seems that opportunity is being squandered.”
“However, the current Government, including the junior Minister, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, and Government-supporting Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, have agreed to continue to support these increases over the next five years. The public service obligation, PSO, is another regressive financing lever which hits the lowest income hardest. According to the Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, the cost of this levy is 12 times larger. In the programme for Government, the Government said it will explore other funding models that will reduce electricity bills for households and businesses. Will the Minister commit to some other funding models that will do that?”
“I appreciate what the Minister has said. It is obvious that the PSO is a vital policy support, as the Minister has said. We have great potential to transform our energy system from import dependence to becoming a global leader in renewables. Significant investment will be required. At present, there is an inequity at the heart of climate change where the causes and effects are not equally shared. Recent Governments have preferred an inequitable model, where there is a disproportionate burden on ordinary households and the wealthiest get off practically scot-free. The indiscriminate carbon taxes place a disproportionate burden on those for whom alternatives are unaffordable or unattainable and they fail to deter the greatest emissions.”
“I want to ask the Minister about the funding model for supporting the roll-out of renewable energy, the public service obligation, PSO, levy and the carbon tax, and whether the Minister has any plan to reform current models. Will he make a statement on this? We have great renewable potential. A group of parliamentarians from Germany were here last year and all they wanted to talk about was our renewables potential. What funding models are there?”
“We saw the largest provider, Panda, increase charges to more than 300,000 customers by way above the rate of inflation. The bin company is also raising its half-yearly service charge. This is the inevitable consequence of increased privatisation. It is inevitable that the State or local authorities will take over refuse collection. Again, it is only a matter of time.”
“It seems to me, from a practical point of view rather than any ideological one, that the for-profit model of waste collection is not good for society. We must also address the broader issue of rising waste costs because the side-by-side model is bad for workers, it seems to be bad for the environment with all the extra fly-tipping, and it is bad for customers because most of them must keep a certain amount of money on account and must deal with a service charge every month or every six months. The result of the privatisation has been that 23% of households in the State do not have a waste collection. This is because many people either cannot afford to, or do not want to, pay for waste collection. Illegal dumping costs more than €100 million per year to the State. Costs continue to rise.”
“It is within the Minister's gift to stop the sale. We met representatives from SIPTU last week who said there were serious risks to Bord na Móna Recycling. Nothing is guaranteed for the workers, not their working conditions, pensions or even their jobs. That is their concern and I am sure the Minister is aware of that. Bord na Móna makes massive profits. Will the Minister intervene to halt this sale?”
“I thank the Minister for his reply. Was there any consultation with the Minister prior to Bord na Móna taking the decision that it proposed to sell off the recycling business? The potential sale of the last public waste company flies in the face of all the latest expert opinion. I come from a place where all of the public waste collection companies were sold over the past 20 or 30 years. Can anybody say this has been a success? There have been recommendations from the Government's own Dublin task force, but rather than further entrenching a dysfunctional, privatised model, which has a history of being bad for workers, customers and the environment, as can be seen in the increase in fly-tipping over the past 20 years, we should follow international best practice and move back towards more public ownership.”
“Is the Minister aware of the sale of Bord na Móna Recycling? There is a lot of concern about this. Has he met with the board to discuss the sale? What measures are being taken to ensure the protection of jobs and pensions? Will he make a statement on the matter?”
“I have one further question about the interview process for the chief inspector. It seems that this recruitment process has already been completed before the Bill has been passed. Why has it already taken place? Is the Minister of State fully satisfied that the interview panel was completely independent as was recommended previously?”
“It, and we, need clarity in this regard. Is a different approach going to be taken if an accident on a vessel occurs when it is tied up, for example? If one agency should have primacy and would take the lead in investigations, which agency would it be? We need to protect rescue services who are going out in defective vehicles. All the families say that. Lives will be saved, not only in the waters around Ireland but around the world if proper implementation is afforded. Will the Minister of State also confirm that, in accordance with the Lacey report, the envisaged independent marine unit will not have any Government officials on it? Is it the case that the panel, which will be interviewing for a new chief inspector, must be completely independent and that officials should not be involved?”
“Despite many of the flaws, the Government did not provide the Opposition with the adequate time to scrutinise the Bill and proper democratic processes were disregarded. I have a number of questions for the Minister of State. It is important to reference Wind Energy Ireland. It has commented on the text of the Bill. With regard to section 8 in particular, which sets out the functions and responsibilities of the marine accident investigation unit, Wind Energy Ireland is querying whether some clarity should be given as to the division of responsibility between the unit and the Health and Safety Authority. It asks whether there is a risk that, in the case of an accident involving the crew of a vessel and construction personnel, perhaps working on an offshore wind turbine installation, there could be confusion as to which agency is involved.”
“The Lacey report, which suggested a national accident investigation officer, has not been published, nor has the Clinch report, despite the Oireachtas committee advocating for their full publication to assist legislators. We are still in the dark, and how is that right? The absence of this knowledge from the public domain has created a vacuum and the legislative process, which was dealt with in a rushed manner towards the end of last year, has been a mess. Pre-legislative scrutiny was completed a full year and a half before it progressed to Second Stage last October, when the election was hanging over us. It was then guillotined and rushed through on the eve of the election.”
“Ciaran McCarthy and the Donegal coroner, about whom I am sure my colleague, Deputy Mac Lochlainn, will speak. During pre-legislative scrutiny, the transport committee took on many of their recommendations. Regrettably, however, this expert knowledge was not taken on board. According to the experts, this Bill fails to deal with basic things such as training, education about the importance of VHF radios and wearing life jackets. There is also no mandated update to the code of practice. It seems obvious to everyone except the Government that it should be accessible to those who are using it. Similarly, the Government has failed to be transparent and accountable when it comes to this issue.”
“This is of particular interest and importance to the future development of offshore renewable energy projects, which the Cathaoirleach Gníomhach will no doubt be encouraging, particularly in the Shannon Estuary. Therefore, no one is disputing that we must change. It is not a question of whether Ireland's approach to marine safety needs to be modernised but rather how these changes are fit for purpose and in line with international best practice. As it stands, the Government's proposals are inadequate and incomplete. The history of this type of legislation is that the State has been woeful at implementing the Cape Town Agreement. There are multiple examples to point to this. First, this legislation, as I said, has discounted expert opinions, such as those from Mr. Kingston, who is in the Public Gallery, Mr.”
“This remains a source of deep disappointment to many and a serious blow to the families who have lost loved ones and expect and hope for higher a standard of care for people into the future, such as people who have campaigned for many years, like Michael Kingston, who lost his father in the Whiddy Island tragedy in 1979. We all accept tragedies can happen despite everyone's best efforts. The point, however, is to learn from them. Unfortunately, the Government has failed in this regard. Under its stewardship, Ireland has fallen below acceptable standards when it comes to marine safety. We have also fallen behind when it comes to the regulation of offshore vehicles, which is dealt with in Part 5, especially with regard to wind energy.”
“Moving along to when the Bill was published and the various sections, Part 2 dealt with the setting-up of the marine investigation unit, marine accident and reporting was dealt with in Part 3, the dissolution of the previous MCIB was in Part 4, and the offshore service vehicles were then dealt with in Part 5. While we welcome the intent repeated again by the Minister of State, unfortunately, the Government ultimately has failed to produce legislation that is fit for purpose. Despite repeated warnings from multiple parties, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael declined to make the necessary changes because, time and again, they ignored the expert opinions and recommendations.”
“When the general scheme was published in 2022 and the Government had approved the drafting of the Merchant Shipping (Investigation of Marine Accidents) Bill to provide for, in full time, the establishment of the MAIU as the permanent body to replace the Marine Casualty Investigation Board, MCIB, the briefing document stated that the main focus of the Bill was to provide the MAIU with the necessary framework to ensure it can, in its organisation, legal structure and as decision-maker, operate independently of any party whose interest could conflict with the task entrusted to the unit. The general scheme also provided rule-making power for the Minister to make the necessary secondary legislation. That is a separate point, however.”
“This amendment amends section 32 and inserts “civil or”, with regard to reports of the marine safety investigation unit in order that they shall not be admissible in civil proceedings. When the Minister of State was speaking to the amendment, I was glad to hear him stress the importance of the independence of the investigation.”
“The hardworking staff at University Hospital Kerry in Tralee, all of whom have the best interests of the people of Kerry at heart, have been contacting me because they are frustrated with the situation there. It is at breaking point. The average waiting time in the accident and emergency department is now ten hours, which is the second highest in the country. One woman told me that she was waiting with her son for 19 hours before he was finally put on a drip. Some 390 people were waiting on trolleys in January, which was a 10% increase on last year's figure. That is a bad start to the year. Year after year for the past five years, elective surgeries have been cancelled. They have been cancelled in University Hospital Kerry since 19 December 2024, which was a full two months ago.”
“-----I will finish on this - not give kickbacks to developers, stand up for ordinary workers and families who want to put a roof over their heads, build more social and affordable homes, ban rent increases and ban bulk buying.”
“Were things not bad enough without having to put the fear of God into renters? The situation is similarly bleak for those looking to purchase homes. House prices are rising faster in Kerry than in many other areas. The national average is 9% but house prices in Kerry rose by 11.4%. The average price is now 41.6% above pre-Covid levels. Is it any wonder when housing supply in Kerry is down 17% on last year, one third of the average from 2015 to 2019? People want to see this Government fix the crisis-----”
“As if it could not get any worse, the latest move from Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry Independents may cause rents to rise even further. If the Minister were here - it is ironic that someone who was calling out other people for hiding seems to have disappeared over the past few weeks - we would ask him about the tenant in situ scheme. In July, three or four years ago, when the scheme was announced initially with no targets and no scheme shown to the local authority in Kerry, the then Tánaiste, Deputy Micheál Martin, said it was a cop out by Kerry County Council to say it did not have the procedures in place, but the same thing is happening three years later. Last weekend, the Minister's revelations put the fear of God into many renters. They were told to brace themselves for difficult decisions that lie ahead.”
“I certainly do not believe that it is acceptable to pull the wool over people's eyes, as the Government did recently when it claimed it would complete 40,000 homes by the end of 2024 during the general election campaign. They have missed their targets, year after year. In fact, 30,000 homes were completed, a far cry from the 60,000 that will be required over the next five years. Let me be clear. The housing plan of the Government is failing the people of Kerry and the people of the State. During the previous Government, house prices and rents rose to historic highs. In Kerry, rents rose by between 6% and 8.5% last year and the average monthly payment is now in or around €1,400 per month, the 15th consecutive quarter in which rents have jumped in Kerry. Where is the change that is to happen? What is the Lowry group bringing to the table?”
“I also met a wheelchair user who has been waiting years for a ground floor apartment to no avail and another family with three children, one of whom has Down's syndrome, that needs more space for all the medical equipment they need in that house. It is glaringly obvious to anybody who is paying attention that the solutions offered by Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael over the past ten or 14 years have not worked. They have refused to change tack. The only changes that the Coalition of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry group - which includes my constituency colleagues, junior Minister, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, and Government-supporting Deputy Danny Healy-Rae - make will be at the expense of ordinary workers and families. Unlike this Government, I do not believe that renters should be punished for Government failures.”
“The House has heard many examples from the Social Democrats - I thank them for bringing the motion today - of individual cases. In my own constituency, it is hard to find a family that has not been impacted by this crisis. This week alone, in my office I had a family of two adults and two children who have recently been told it would be 12 years before they would be considered for a house, and another couple is waiting for a house for 16 years. A 67-year-old man who is in hospital with pneumonia is living in or returning to a house that is nearly as old as himself. He suffers from COPD and arthritis, is recovering from pneumonia, as I said, and he is expected to go back to an old house in damp conditions.”
“It seems that every time housing is outsourced to the market, it causes problems. Whether that is for students, asylum seekers, people in nursing homes or people on local authority waiting lists, the answer from the Government always seems to be to outsource it again. Its idea is to build more units, not to focus on social and affordable housing. The housing crisis is the biggest issue facing the State today and the failure to deliver sufficient supply, especially of affordable and social homes, has had devastating consequences for ordinary people. People are forced to live in old houses, in increasingly damp and hazardous conditions, posing serious threats to their health. Young people are emigrating at an alarming rate because they cannot afford extortionate rents.”
“As a result we are reliant on other countries such as Keir Starmer’s Britain to provide things like back-up generators. While we appreciate their generosity, we have been left at the mercy of others. Were any concrete steps discussed to reinforce our back-up generation capacity? Can the Taoiseach provide an update on the development of any long duration energy storage to build our climate resilience? Similarly, we have become over-reliant on Britain and rather than developing our own potential we have been dependent on British energy imports. Did the Taoiseach discuss the impact of this mechanism with Keir Starmer?”
“I wish to be associated with the comments about the former TD, Dan Wallace. The Taoiseach said he spoke about climate resilience with Keir Starmer. Just as the war in Ukraine showed how exposed this country is to the vagaries of the international energy market, the recent storm exposed how ill prepared we are to deal with the consequences and our resilience in terms of climate change. The Taoiseach does not need me to tell him about the 750,000 people who were without power or particularly the people in the Brosna area in Kerry who were without power as a result of the snow, some of whom have had up to 20 power cuts in the last calendar year. Recent Governments have failed to prepare Ireland’s electricity grid and network to withstand these types of extreme weather events. I think everyone can agree with that.”
“On the Banna side of Ardfert, since the speed limit was changed, there have been four crashes into one house over a three-year period. There has been residential development on the road and businesses have had HGVs or farm vehicles pull out onto the now 80 km/h road, which has a history of deaths and collisions. Kerry County Council says it cannot be changed back because many collisions were not logged. The Government still has not addressed the fact that the Road Safety Authority cannot share collision data with local authorities. This has been going on for seven years and must also be addressed. The Government needs to recognise that the approach is not working and to see sense to save lives.”
“Due to lack of resourcing, Kerry County Council can only repair up to 20 roads per year. Under this Government and at this rate, it will be at least 25 years before the council will get to them all if funding is available, although sometimes it is not. I will also highlight the fact that local engineers spent long hours preparing documents for tender to improve the dangerous bend near Glenbeigh National School on the Ring of Kerry and the N86 from Lispole to Dingle but funding was suddenly cut without explanation. I call on the Government to restore this funding. I hope the four Government-supporting Kerry TDs ensure this takes place. Road safety can only truly be addressed if local knowledge is prioritised and fed in. Another example is the road from Farmers Bridge to the cross at Dromavally, which is very dangerous.”
“The Ministers can do the maths on that. While we undoubtedly need a stronger Garda presence on our roads, we need more gardaí everywhere at the moment and I struggle to see how the Government will free up more gardaí when there are serious shortages combined with a recruitment and retention crisis. To get more gardaí on the roads, we need to open a second Garda training college, maybe even on a short-term basis. This is the only way we will get what is sorely needed. Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Lowry-led Independents also need to get serious about road maintenance. Many roads throughout the island are in shocking condition and the calls of local authorities and our calls to resource local authorities to carry out this work have been ignored. In Kerry, there are 625 roads on the priority list for the local improvement scheme.”
“The recent speed limit reductions have thrown a spotlight on road safety and, while there is no doubt that speed is a factor in road deaths and collisions and we must take the necessary steps to get people to slow down, how on earth can you expect the measure to be effective if it cannot be enforced? The lack of Garda presence on our roads is well known. There has been a 41% decrease in Garda road policing numbers in the past 15 years. In 2009, there were well over 1,000 gardaí on our roads. Now, there are 620. The programme for Government contains a vague commitment to free up more gardaí to maximise efficiency and enforcement in roads policing. It is stated in the programme for Government a few times that it is hoped to recruit 5,000 extra gardaí. However, 5,773 gardaí will become eligible to retire over the next four years.”
“The figures demonstrate that road safety must be treated with the gravity and urgency it deserves and that recent governments have failed to achieve this. Rather than making things better, their approach has made things worse. There is not enough enforcement of the rules of the road and there is too little resourcing of road improvements. There is too much focus on a one-size-fits-all approach rather than locally informed solutions. Unfortunately, there is nothing really new in the programme for Government in addition to what has already been proposed. Many of the commitments were made during the lifetime of the previous Government, and the programme for Government is devoid of detail and timelines.”
“Research by the RSA suggests that the real figure is likely to be significantly higher due to under-reporting. In 2024, there were therefore probably 1,740 children, young people and adults left with injuries serious enough to be described as life-changing. This is a particular issue in rural Ireland as 70% of collisions occur on rural roads. Many of these roads have issues and have seen multiple collisions on blind corners and junctions. Many of them are also poorly maintained. It is worrying that Ireland is performing far more poorly than our international counterparts when it comes to road safety. The European Transport Safety Council demonstrated that 20 out of 32 countries showed a reduction in road deaths in 2023 when compared with 2019. In Ireland, there was a 32% increase during this period.”
“When we discuss road safety, we must remember the many families that have been left devastated by the large number of tragedies and deaths on our roads, especially in the last year. In the opening weeks of 2025, the country watched in horror as 19 people on the island died in January alone. In 2024, 174 lives were lost in the Twenty-six Counties alone. Every one of those was a daughter, son, parent or friend. I express my condolences to the bereaved. When I think of road collisions, I often think of one of the most dangerous roads in Kerry, possibly the most dangerous, the R556 road from Tralee to Abbeydorney, where there has been a number of fatalities over the last 20 years. For every person whose life is tragically cut short on our roads at least ten more people are left with serious injuries.”
“It is not shouting "Stop" and saying that we will not invest in anything that has any risk of further displacing or killing people, including the weakest and most vulnerable civilians. The ceasefire in Gaza is in danger because Israel has violated it several times. We need to be stronger, to shout that we will not tolerate this anymore and completely divest from anything that is displacing people.”
“It seems that some of the direct investments that were mentioned, which are controlled by ISIF, are not pooled investments. They are in banks such as Bank Leumi-le Israel BM, which is one of the largest banks in Israel. For decades, this bank has facilitated the expansion of illegal settlements. It granted a loan for a construction project in the Palestinian village of Azzun and bankrolled five illegal settlements. I note from the programme for Government that the Government has committed to progressing the Control of Economic Activity (Occupied Territories) Bill but what is progressing is kicking the can further down the road. This is what it seems like to many people. The Government seems to be dragging its feet and watering down its commitment. It seems to me it is not being strong enough.”
“There is also €1.1 million worth of shares in a controversial Israeli tech firm that partners with Israeli arms manufacturers and is run by former IDF intelligence officers who have faced demands to stop doing business in Russia. The Government has been content to allow IDF cargo planes to fly through Irish sovereign airspace. One junior Minister in the previous Government had cause to meet Israelis and instead of being reprimanded, was promoted. It seems the Government is prepared to pay lip service to the Palestinian people but is not really prepared to shout "Stop". Is the Government looking at divesting from all of these funds or does the Minister consider the matter complete?”
“I note the Minister said that ISIF considers a variety of factors. I presume genocide, killing civilians and facilitating illegal settlements are included in that. I acknowledge that there has been some divestment from illegally occupied Palestinian areas and the Golan Heights but this is not the entire story. It is important to realise that it had been reported that ISIF still had a €1.3 million shareholding in the Israel Defense Forces-linked Palantir Technologies we heard about last December. The Israel Defense Forces, IDF, have used Palantir-supplied technology to target civilians in Gaza after a deal with the US company was announced in January 2025.”
“Do we really need more units that will cost €3,000 per month to rent? In the context of the reference in the programme for Government to the town centre first approach and the Government policy of promoting town centres, I wish to raise the sale of the An Post depot adjacent to Tralee courthouse. I appeal to the Minister, who will be dealing with the financial issues relating to this to talk to the Courts Service about reconsidering the refurbishment of the courthouse and to consider freeing up space at the Denny site. A small bit of extra money will reap huge dividends. We oppose this Bill and reject it completely.”
“Rather than dealing with the issues that arose during the most severe storm in living memory, Government members decided to give themselves a week off. When they came back, the first thing they did was to introduce legislation that is designed to give them more money. Then they lied about the housing figures, or maybe they are "ag insint bréag" because apparently they did not say that. They are kidding nobody. They are waiving pre-legislative scrutiny of this Bill, taking all Stages in the Dáil on the same day and applying a guillotine. This is a very bad start by the Government. Over the weekend, we heard there would be tax breaks for large property owners and institutional landowners. They are the priorities of this Government as they were the priorities of the previous two or three Governments.”
“What they are doing is casting lots for our clothing. As has already been intimated, there are genuine concerns about whether the Bill is constitutional and whether 19 members can sit at Cabinet. There are also issues in respect of Cabinet confidentiality. We will await the outcome of the High Court decision and maybe beyond that, depending on what decision is reached. Arrogance was displayed in the immediate aftermath of the formation of the Government in the context of the decision on Government and Opposition speaking time. The fact that said decision had to be reversed was a bad start. What happened was not surprising. Many of deals of this type have been done in the past, going back to the 1990s and even before that. Perhaps the arrogance has reached a new level when it comes to dealing with Deputy Michael Lowry and his grubby deal.”
“There is not a great deal to this Bill on paper. There are only two sections to it. In relation to super junior Ministers, rather than saying “appoint not more than 20 persons” it states “appoint not more than 23 persons". Rather than “not more than 3 specified holders of the office of Minister of State who regularly attend meetings of the Government” it states “not more than 4 specified holders of the office of Minister of State who regularly attend meetings of the Government”. It does not say a great deal on paper, but it says a great deal in the context of the tone it sets at the beginning of the lifetime of this new Government. What it says is that there will be more Mercs and perks and more jobs for the boys. The arrogance it shows can be seen in wasting more money on Government pay.”
“The ESB owes the people of Brosna and communities like it a full explanation of why their lives are repeatedly brought to a standstill. I ask the ESB to hold a meeting and to compensate customers for loss of service and costs incurred in finding back-up sources of power. Also, the PSO levy and standing charge must be suspended during power cuts. It is the least the Government can do.”
“In 2023, the CRU was highly critical of efforts to that point, stating the ESB was way behind targets and significant improvement was needed. Similarly, the Government’s 2019 sectoral adaptation plan warned of the dangers that lay ahead, highlighted the need for improvements to make the network more resilient and called specific attention to the risks of falling trees. Despite this, the Government and ESB have been asleep at the wheel. As a result, communities feel they have been left abandoned. Have they no regard for the havoc the outages wreak in people’s lives? I had arranged for a meeting with the ESB in Brosna to address the power cuts but it was cancelled in anticipation of the storm. Fair enough, but people deserve answers.”
“In the woman's area of Brosna, there have been at least 22 power cuts in the past year. Six were planned; the remainder were unplanned. Nineteen of them were unrelated to Storm Éowyn. This is the regular level of service constituents have, unfortunately, come to expect. They have told me they are forced to live off-grid at considerable expense. Many people, including me, were shocked by the comments from some people in the ESB, who said customers would have to pay for upgrades or repairs, warning that inevitable price increases would come on top of already extortionate bills. Is the ESB trying to pull a fast one? For years the energy regulator has warned the ESB that, unless it got its act together, repeated and prolonged power outages were inevitable.”