Pat Buckley
Cork East · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“This Sinn Féin motion is to recognise that art is the product of the labour of artists informed by their unique human experience, creativity and skill. The Script's Danny O'Donoghue on "Morning Ireland" said: ... no public funding goes towards AI-generated content, humans only.”
“I thank Deputy Ó Snodaigh for tabling this motion. It is not just ordinary workers who are being made to fear for their futures as artificial intelligence continues to develop and expand. Musical artists, writers and filmmakers are also being badly hit by this AI revolution.”
“I thank the Social Democrats for bringing this motion here today. I sat here last night and have sat here again this morning, listening to the debates. The first thing I have noticed is there is absolutely zero from the Government bench. It is absolutely shameful. It is crocodile tears we see in here.”
“We have heard many lines here before about how we do not want to be on the wrong side of history. I urge the Government to withdraw its countermotion. It is utterly shameful. The Irish people are very angry and very hurt. What if the Government had to walk in the shoes of any Palestinian. I have spoken to many of them.”
“To think of an Israeli team with an Israeli flag on Irish soil with the national anthem and the Israeli national anthem being sung and it being acknowledged as normal is absolutely unbelievable and unimaginable. Yesterday, I listened to a debate in the audiovisual room from the Stop the Game campaign.”
“I do not even think UEFA has the balls to take us on because it will set a precedent. If we do the right thing now, we can stand up here in a year's time or ten years' time and say we are proud we did the right thing and we stood up for the people who needed us.”
The complete record
Every one of 195 lines we hold for Pat Buckley, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 4 of 4.
“In a country as rich as this one, it is shameful that so many children have been failed so consistently and so comprehensively. When a child finally does complete an assessment of need, families are often faced with a further abyss of prolonged waiting to access therapies. At one point, waiting lists in Cork and Kerry primary care psychology exceeded 6,000 and waiting times were close to six years for some children. The current situation is certainly untenable. We cannot in good conscience allow the children of this country to languish on waiting lists while their developmental needs go unmet. We must ensure the voices of affected families are heard and that their experiences inform the policy decisions.”
“More than 15,000 children are overdue their assessment of needs. Approximately 1,000 of these are in my county, Cork. To make matters worse, parents in Cork are waiting up to 30 months for these assessments for their children. This is a far cry from the six months' waiting time required by law. In fact, more than 90% of assessments of need are completed outside of the legal time limit. It is absolutely bonkers. These delays are not just numbers. They represent real children who are missing out on critical early intervention, which could significantly damage their development and their quality of life. The assessment of need scandal sits within the broader context of extensive and abject policy failure across our disabilities sector, which is causing so many families immense suffering.”
“The county council was basically told to buzz off and that Uisce Éireann was not going to bring water and sewage services in there. I raised the issue in the County Hall at the time and asked the council officials if it was true that Irish Water, as it was at the time, was telling the council where we could and could not build houses. This issue is vital. People are scratching their heads. I ask the Government to please not be a reactive one like we have had for the past several years. I ask it to try to be a proactive Government and to listen to everybody. We can work together. If we do not have the critical infrastructure, we will not have affordable housing and we will start to lose a generation.”
“You have a better chance of emptying the Red Sea with a bucket with no ass in it than getting a reply from Irish Water or Uisce Éireann. We are also always talking about critical infrastructure. I have raised this issue many times. I have written to TII and the NTA perhaps three to four times annually. I refer to Youghal railway and getting connectivity in east Cork. It would open up a massive corridor for development, housing and so on. I call on all the relevant Ministers, including those for transport and housing, to get all the Departments working together. I have been listening to talk of capacity since I was on the council. I remember when Uisce Éireann came along and what it told Cork County Council about one of the local development plans. I think Monard was the village planned.”
“The lack of a proper road in Cobh has stifled plans for more than 1,300 council houses in the area. This is one of the reasons An Bord Pleanála gave for refusing an application by a company to move into the former IFI plant in Marino Point. We also have a massive tourism industry in Cobh, but our only bridge is the Belvelly Bridge. Under the current plans, we have heard it will be this way for at least ten years. It is dangerous for visitors travelling in and out of this tourist destination, but it is unbelievable for the commuters coming in and out of Cobh every day. We are talking about water and Uisce Éireann. We have had boil water notices in Whitegate now for ten years, on and off. Uisce Éireann is probably the worst company to have to engage with.”
“I genuinely have no words for why we have to discuss this, but somebody has to be held responsible for it. I just cannot imagine how parents are feeling. I am sick to the stomach, but it must be absolutely gut-wrenching that one second you are sitting at the steering wheel holding that wheel and your child is on your right and within a blink you are on the opposite side of that car and they are holding the steering wheel. Now you have no control. I plead with everybody in this House to work together to get this right.”
“What has happened to these kids is absolutely rotten. I will not spare my words. You would not do it to a dog. You just would not do it to an animal. We are on about who has confidence in what. Nobody is being held accountable for this. I can remember, going back a number of years, the same procedure, the double hip operation. It is called a hip spica. You are in an arched timber cast. The HSE had one hip spica chair in the country, so any other child who came out after that chair was gone got a beanbag. That is going back to 2016 or 2017. With the help of a friend, we sourced one at a cost of €800. We bought a child's chair so they could have comfort. We imported it from England, yet you can hire them for €40 a month. A lot of things have gone wrong here.”
“We are back again. It is not easy to come in here and say what Deputy Brennan said, and I admire him for that. I think we all have our personal stories. Going back to age 16, I can remember my personal story. It was not easy either. It just goes to show that we are all normal in this House and we all have feelings. This motion is about not having confidence in CHI. It is as simple as that. I suspect that the majority if not all the parents of those kids who are affected are probably sitting on the same bench as us. I did a lot of work on protected disclosures, and one of the big things with protected disclosures was flipping the reversal of the burden of proof. I still feel that you are punished in society in this country if you tell the truth or try to help people. You get absolutely battered for it. That is how rotten this society is.”
“I ask the Minister to work with us. As I said, we are all here to do the right thing. The Minister, I and everybody else in this House know that one of the greatest rewards we can get in our job is when somebody says “Thanks for that.” All we want is that thanks. I appeal to the Minister and I will reach out to her again on that.”
“However, there is misrepresentation by the senior management and clinicians, who say, “It is my patch, they are my rules and that is it.” I cannot understand, when we see the evidence, including the contradictory evidence from experts elsewhere in the world, how this girl can be left for 14 years, seven months and five days without any hope or encouragement. It is shocking. I appeal to the Minister. I would certainly look into CHI. We have a system that is top-down and top-heavy in nature. It is like any of us in any job. We are not going to be told the truth by everybody because they are protecting their own patch. I appeal to the Minister. I will tell her straight out that anything I can do to assist her, I will do. I appeal on behalf of this family. In the case of the other poor child, the mother’s heart is broken.”
“I appeal to her to look at them. That is only one of the scandals. On the same point about accountability and responsibility, I know of the case of another young girl where there was a mess-up somewhere within the HSE. The poor girl is now six and is in severe pain, but the HSE will not rectify the problem because it is afraid of repercussions as it basically fecked up the first operation. The mother is willing to engage with the HSE and sign a disclosure to say that the issue is gone once the HSE sorts out the child, but it will not even engage. I pity the Minister in her job. None of us know everything but I want to flag this. I will engage with anybody. Deputy Colm Burke knows me of old. I am very straight talking and fair. The Minister can hear it in my voice. All of us in this Chamber want to do the right thing.”
“This is my third term in the House. I feel very privileged to be here. However, between the mother and baby homes, the vaginal mesh issue, the unnecessary hip operations on children and the Grace case - we will not go into the disability or mental health services - nobody seems to be held accountable or responsible. What is worrying about the case of this poor child is that she has been told she can get the operation in the United States and that she will have an opportunity to walk again, but for more than 14 years, no matter where she went or who she went to, she was told it will not work. In fact, on her first visit to the adult section in Dublin, she was told that if they did operate, she might never walk again. That poor girl is tortured and demented. I am tortured and demented. I will give the Minister all the details of the case.”
“This went on for years and years until, suddenly, last year, Katie turned 17 and because she is not a child anymore, she is now in the adult section. The biggest problems for me are not just the mental health issues of that individual but also her family. How can we have faith in a system that basically misleads a child? We have evidence from surgeons in America that they can carry out this operation, so it can be done. However, specialists in Ireland say it cannot be done successfully. That poor girl has been 14 years, seven months and five days waiting. She is still in pain. She and her mother will be outside Leinster House at 12 noon tomorrow. I am reaching out and asking the Minister to meet them and look at the details, which are self-explanatory. It is frightening that we are talking about scandal after scandal.”
“I wish the Minister well in her position. We all get involved in politics because we want to do the right thing. I, too, acknowledge the wonderful staff in the health system, but this is about accountability and responsibility, both of which are lacking within CHI. I sometimes shudder when I listen to the words of CHI, and I will tell the Minister why. Katie Burke, who is now a young woman, has been waiting 14 years, seven months and five days for a hip operation. We were talking about unnecessary hip operations a while ago but this girl has been 14 years, seven months and five days waiting for a procedure. When she started off as a very young girl, the excuses within the children's health system at the time were that she would not be strong enough or that as she had cerebral palsy, she might clot.”
“I have been advised that the only solution to the water supply issue in Ballyhooly is to replace the water mains between the reservoir and the village because it is completely blocked due to corrosion. Last November, Cork County Council wrote to Uisce Éireann asking for the water mains pipe to be upgraded but Uisce Éireann replied that no capital work would be carried out. That is Ballyhooly goosed. It is unacceptable that Uisce Éireann would refuse to carry out work and it leaves Ballyhooly and all of its residents bitterly disappointed. While we are at it, I want to mention that Whitegate is nine years into a boil water notice and it has over 10,000 people. They are being treated appallingly. It has got so bad that when people have a shower, it is like they have measles.”
“When this happens, children in the school have no toilets and no way of washing their hands and the school has no way of putting out a fire, should one occur. Many of the houses in the village are home to young families. Children are often unable to be bathed by their parents because there is no water. Cooking cannot be done, clothes cannot be washed and showers cannot be taken. It is mad. Residents, families and businesses are affected by this ongoing water disruption. I understand that Irish Water is legally required to maintain a minimal one bar of pressure, which equates to about 10 l per minute, but Ballyhooly is lucky to get half of that on a good day. I have been working with the residents and community groups there.”
“Preparing for and recovering from this procedure requires access to a working toilet and the ability to clean up after herself, whereas she cannot even flush her toilet, wash her hands or even maintain basic hygiene. To make matters worse, she has no access to heating or hot water as the gas system does not function without sufficient water pressure. She has personally contacted Uisce Éireann over 30 times about this but it has failed to take any action. It is a major crisis for this person. It is a health issue and a human rights issue. In my opinion, she has been blatantly ignored by Irish Water. Trying to contact these people is an unbelievable challenge. The Minister might not be familiar with Ballyhooly but its national school’s water has constantly been cut off.”
“I want to raise the issue of communication between Irish Water and elected representatives. I will read a statement outlining the situation of a constituent who contacted me last week. I was contacted by a resident of Ballyhooly in east Cork. This resident has a serious autoimmune disease called ulcerative colitis, a form of inflammatory bowel disease that makes proper hygiene essential for her. However, due to the ongoing water supply issue in the area, she cannot even wash a cup and is forced to spend 45 minutes a day filling a bath with kettles of water so she can clean herself. Her condition is getting worse and she has a scheduled procedure set for Saturday. She is genuinely worried.”
“I know of a mother of five kids who was due to get married, but her partner died the day before due to cancer. She is in a kind of limbo now. I feel very honoured to be here speaking on this Bill. I appeal for us to work together in this House to get this legislation passed as soon as we can. It is about justice and doing the right thing.”
“That is what it is about: doing the right thing in the wake of tragedy. I acknowledge the O'Meara family, whose loss of a mother and partner led to the legal challenge that ultimately overturned the law and made this Bill possible. The challenge to the law was fought long and hard by John O'Meara and he should be commended for this. By passing the Bill without further delay, the Government will be standing with the bereaved, standing for justice, and standing for a future where no partner is left behind. It will ensure that future generations are spared the hardship that too many have suffered in the past. This needs to be a priority for the Government. I thank the Minister. We have all had experiences. I will brief the House on a most recent one, which is worrying. It makes one aware of the urgency.”
“The proposed legislation will provide greater financial security for surviving partners and will guarantee that they will be entitled to receive pension benefits as well as the bereaved parent's grant. It is vital that we create a system that recognises the value of both partners' contributions to family life and ensures the surviving partner is not left vulnerable in their time of need, perhaps with a family to support. This is very important. The passing of the Bill is simply doing the right thing for these families. Enacting and commencing the Bill will provide peace of mind and security for thousands of families during the most difficult times in their lives. It will create a fairer and more compassionate society where no one has to struggle alone in the wake of a tragedy.”
“All Members in the House today are very passionate about this issue. They all have their own personal stories of people who have lost loved ones. I thank my Sinn Féin colleagues for some very good contributions. We talking about a Bill that is not perfect - we have Second Stage debates to try to tweak legislation - but it is not merely a Bill; it is a lifeline for thousands of families. We often come in here and talk about doing the right thing. This is the right thing. As people say, you do not need a marriage certificate to prove that you are in love with somebody. You do not need a marriage certificate to prove that you love your children, you love life, and you love family life. I say "family" because it should be treated in that sense even when you do not have a contract or a bit of paper.”
“He works two jobs and cannot get on the housing list because he does not have an address. He was told to use his sister's address. This means her rent will go up so the system is very unfair. I want to put that on the record because there are many other people like this. I will finish by saying housing should be a right and not a privilege determined by the size of one's family. The restrictions on the tenant in situ scheme need to be reversed to ensure that everyone - single or couple, parent or not - has access to a secure stable home.”
“This new rule not only disregards the realities many face in our society but also maintains unfairness in a system that should be about providing housing stability for all who need it regardless of their circumstances. Single people and couples without children are just as vulnerable to housing instability as families with children. With the exclusion of these groups, the Minister is telling many people that they are less deserving of having a stable home simply because they do not fit a certain family model. This is not just an unfair distinction, it is a deeply discriminatory one. A case that has been covered on RedFM and in local newspapers involves a 33-year-old man named Jonathan who lives in a caravan in Cobh. He was staying at his sister's place and had to move to a car park. The council is pushing him on again.”
“I wish the Minister well in his new role. The tenant in situ scheme has been hugely successful in preventing hundreds of families in Cork from becoming homeless. This scheme has allowed Cork County Council to buy up properties for tenants who face a no-fault eviction notice allowing the family to remain in the property as council tenants. This scheme is working and should be expanded to ensure the maximum number of tenants at risk of eviction and homelessness can avail of it. Instead of increasing this vital protector for renters with eviction notices, the Minister has reduced funding and cut targets for this scheme. He has also imposed a series of new restrictions on the operation of the scheme. For example, under the new rules, single people and couples without children will be excluded. This in itself is deeply concerning.”
“I appeal to the Minister of State to keep this issue front and centre. I will follow up on it with parliamentary questions to see whether we can build on what is something special. Instead of letting it wither, let us try to make it grow.”
“The €1.3 million represents four people who did not go into State care and instead could live a normal life with the support of the resource centre in question. I appeal to the Minister of State to keep this matter front and centre. I will revisit it in due course to see whether we can find any way of increasing the provision. If we lose these services, we will be in deep trouble. We have the most amazing people in these centres who are fully committed to this work. I have met most of them, from management through to the various staff. The welcome one gets comes with a cup of tea or coffee and a scone when one goes in and sits down to meet the people involved. The atmosphere there is electric and, at times, mesmerising. People do not realise how good a service it is until it is gone. That is putting it very politely.”
“I thank the Minister of State. He said the Department's work in this area is administered by Tusla. There are other trains of funding but the centres do not have the resources to try to pull money from each and every angle. I cannot stress strongly enough that the core funding must be increased. It is as simple as that. That will give the resource centres the ability to fully function. The Minister of State is well aware of the issues. We see a lot of instances in this country where something is working right but, if it breaks down, there is no support and then those services are lost. He knows that as well as I do. We have seen how beneficial these centres are in the communities they serve. If we are going on cost alone, I mentioned a figure of €1.3 million. That is a massive saving to the State but we would not look at it as just that.”
“Quality over quantity needs to be prioritised here and I would appreciate if the Minister could give this issue urgent attention. I normally do not read from scripts but I wanted to get it right. I have met people in many family resource centres in my time in east Cork and each and every one of them tells me the same problem. They are overstretched and overburdened with the demand for services. They just do not have the funding to cover services. I know there are people coming out of UCC and giving their time for free to counsel young kids in difficulty. I have met families that have gone through these centres that are an amazing achievement and are something we should really respect. That is why I raised this issue here tonight. I look forward to the Minister of State's answer.”
“Investing in family resource centres can lead to significant cost savings for broader social services by reducing the need for more expensive interventions. An increase in funding would allow centres to recruit and retain qualified staff, invest in training and build an internal capacity necessary to better serve their clients. With many family resource centres operating understaffed and with limited resources, they are often stretched to breaking point, impacting the quality and accessibility of the services. The Minister has also allocated an additional €800,000 to allow for the expansion of family resource centre programmes in budget 2025. While the funding and additional five family resource centres are welcome, the reality is we will have five additional underfunded family resource centres going forward.”
“To be honest, it is simply not enough. Shortfalls in funding hinder the centres' ability to meet the growing demand for their services. The challenges families face have become more complex and widespread, especially with the ongoing cost-of-living pressures and the housing crisis. As a result, the demand for family resource centre services has surged, yet funding has not increased to reflect this. Fergal Landy, the CEO of the Family Resource Centre National Forum, has lobbied for a minimum of €250,000 in core funding for each family resource centre in the programme. This is a more realistic figure than has been costed. When family resource centres are properly funded, they can create lasting positive changes in communities by providing early intervention and preventative services that reduce long-term social costs.”
“An example of this can be seen in the €166,400 the centre received in core funding in 2024, which pales into insignificance when stacked against the average of €6,388 per week or €332,000 it costs the State annually to keep a child in care. The centre can point to at least four cases where it prevented children from going into care in 2024. The value of this one piece of work is in excess of €1.3 million. Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre is just one of 120 family resource centres in the country. It would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, for the State to replicate the work of family resource centres, certainly in purely financial terms. This work should be valued appropriately. The Minister quoted a figure of €160,000 as a minimum core funding currently allocated to all family resource centres.”
“Prior to last year's election, I attended a briefing at Carrigtwohill Family Resource Centre where I was humbled to hear about the invaluable work it does on a shoestring budget for people in need in this community. I had a positive engagement with the staff there and I commend them on their fantastic work in supporting the local community in Carrigtwohill and the surrounding areas of east Cork. Their work is vital for addressing social exclusion, poverty, assisting marginalised groups and providing equal opportunities to all. Their work underlines the need for family resource centres and other community sector organisations to be protected and adequately resourced in order that they can continue to provide these invaluable services.”
“All of the specialists said they could do it until they looked at the person and then they said they cannot. We have reports from other parts of the country and from the United States that these surgeries can be done and this girl could walk, but unfortunately she has regressed now and has gone back into a wheelchair. I wanted to highlight the fact that we are talking about disability services here and we have amazing people within them. I appeal to the Minister of State or Minister, Deputy Foley, - if I could give it to her I would - to sit down with me to discuss this case to try to solve it.”
“I would be delighted to give the Minister of State all the information. I will use polite language. This girl has been waiting for 14 years for surgery and all she has been getting is excuses, that she is too weak and will not make it and so forth. Now that Katie is an adult she is in limbo. She does not get any services from the Brothers of Charity where she was transferred with the progressing disability services three years ago. Her physiotherapist is on maternity leave. She does not have full-time physiotherapy. She got a break and got a six week block in 2014 and has had nothing since. Her situation is deteriorating. We are talking about disability services. It must be heartbreaking for the family and individual - I have sat with them - to be told that it can be done.”
“She goes on to say that Katie had spinal surgery in 2014 which released the spasticity from her body that had her in pain every day and allowed her to walk independently for the first time in her life when she was seven years old. We have been working on this for a long time. We are in a situation where Katie has gone through the whole child system, since she was four years of age. She is now 17, nearly 18. She has been waiting for surgery for 14 or 15 years. We have been in constant contact with services and we have been told by the HSE that there are surgeons in Ireland who are available to do this surgery, but this has been going on for 14 years. There is a lack of responsibility or accountability or someone does not want to take on the responsibility of doing this operation.”
“I wish the Minister of State and the Minister, Deputy Foley, the best in their new roles. I listened to the Minister's opening speech a while ago and to many of the Deputies. I will cut straight to the chase, hoping that one of them might be able to assist me. I have been working with someone who is now a young woman, but was a child when we started this. Her mother wrote to me and said: I am a mum to an 18 year old lady with cerebral palsy. She also has a dysplastic hip, retroverted pelvis, twisted femur and autism...Katie has a dysplastic hip since she was 4 years old and we brought her to the Paley institute in Poland to meet Dr. Dror Paley, who following his examination told us that Katie's pelvis is retroverted and the ball that should be in the socket is now 50% [dislocated].”
“There is a brilliant place, the Midleton Hub, which is volunteer led, providing fabulous services. I encourage the Minister of State, and we can work together and improve services, to work with everybody and ask the questions. We will probably be able to give her some of the information that will help.”
“The Minister of State mentioned the investment in mental health and well-being, which is a no-brainer. The fact is there are social and economic benefits to a healthy and happy society so it has to work. It also impacts on young people's development, which cannot be overstated. While we are doing apparently good things within the services, people are still coming to me. It is a long time since I was mental health spokesperson on this side of the House, and I congratulate our new lady beside me, Deputy Clarke, but things have not changed much. We still have the issue of the Owenacurra Centre. How many times have I battled the Minister of State on that? Nothing is happening there. We have lost 21 respite beds in mental health services. The Minister of State mentioned community-led and community-focused.”
“-----and unfortunately it is still going at a very slow pace. In Cork city and county, 336 adults and 921 children and teenagers are currently waiting for mental health services. Some are waiting for 12 months, while some are waiting as much as four or five years. The Minister of State mentioned A Vision for Change. We definitely need to refresh that strategy. There is a recruitment crisis. We have had this over and over again. It is a bloody disaster. It has to be addressed. If we do not have the recruitment issues sorted, nothing will move forward. I welcome the fact there is ring-fenced money for the Traveller community. I will always give credit where credit is due - I always say that. We do not have to be fighting across the floor all the time.”
“I apologise to the Ceann Comhairle, as I never congratulated her on her official status. I welcome the Minister's response and the fact that the Bill is being finalised. I read the report of the Joint Committee on Social Protection, Community and Rural Development and the Islands. In fairness to its recommendations, I was a bit worried when the Minister said there might be some complications. However, if a draft Bill is now being finalised, I would be very interested in working with him. We will give any support we can. This is about doing the right thing for people. Bills sometimes fall, get lost or are shelved but I am passionate about this one because, whenever you can help someone who is at a disadvantage and you can get that right, it is a great day for everybody and a win for everybody.”
“I would love to go back to those people and others, as I am sure the Minister on the other side would, to say that we did the right thing and enacted this Bill. Is there a timeframe to do this Bill? Will it be enacted with urgency? What is the procedure? Is there anything that we can do on this side of the House to push it and facilitate that? It is not a pat on the back for any of us. It is just about doing the right thing. I hope the people outside of the Houses who need this Bill to be enacted will benefit from it. I thank the Minister for his patience.”
“We often speak about doing the right thing in here. This has massive potential to ease the pressure on families. Those who have already endured the heartbreak of losing a loved one should never have to bear the additional trauma of being ostracised, cast aside or judged just because they did not sign a certain contract, having spent a lifetime with their partner and having built a family and a life even though, technically, they did not have a marriage certificate but had their own marriage in life and had harmony. I think it is bad. Enacting this Bill would provide significant peace of mind and security for the families who I am speaking about. It would give the best security to people when they are at their lowest ebb. That is not the only incident but it is the most recent incident and I know the family.”
“I was interested in this Bill and was watching it because I had been lobbied by many constituents. The family had five beautiful children. Mam and dad were supposed to get married on Wednesday three weeks ago. Unfortunately, the dad passed away on the Tuesday three weeks ago. Now, the mam is a grieving widow with five young children. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael need to follow up on their pre-election commitments to bring this Bill into law. I know it is committed to in the programme for Government. My biggest worry is about how long this could go on. I researched it and I think it will only be backdated to January 2024. If the Bill continues to not be enacted, it could cause problems further down the line. Thousands of families are affected by this. This is an excellent Bill. It is a Bill about doing the right thing.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle. I notice she saved the best for last. I thank everybody in east Cork, in my constituency, for putting their faith in me and putting me back here for a third term. I thank my family and my supporters on the ground who canvassed for me. I congratulate the Minister, Deputy Calleary. I hope we will have plenty of good banter and battles here, but most importantly, that we will have results. The Social Welfare (Bereaved Partner's Pension) Bill 2024 is important legislation which is intended to give effect to the O'Meara judgment by expanding entitlements to social welfare schemes aimed at bereaved partners and families to qualified cohabitants and their children. I bring this up today because three or four week ago, a family had a funeral in my own town. It resonated with me.”