Paul McAuliffe
Dublin North-West · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“In the context of the previous Government, some of our Green Party colleagues were also supportive of this for a range of other reasons relating to delivering the circular economy. From what I hear, one outcome of the review could be the creation of a franchised service.”
“It would allow it to say that in the context of my area of Finglas, it is not appropriate that because an area is more affluent, people living in that road have access to five bin companies and because somewhere else is less affluent, it is stuck with one bin company.”
“I made a commitment to Deputies Gannon and Sherlock in 2019 in an agreement we signed together to pursue the issue of remunicipalisation. It was the right thing to do then and it is the right thing to do now. It is not an accident that there are many Dublin-based Deputies in the House for this debate.”
“If Dublin City Council had been allowed address the housing crisis back in 2012, 2013 or 2014, when it was impacting the city far more than anywhere else, we would have been ahead of the curve.”
“-----to put in place waste solutions that suit their areas. If this means that there is a different solution in Dublin City Council's area than in the other local authority areas across the county, then that is how it should be. Unfortunately, that power rests with the chief executive.”
“To break that down a little, the issues Deputies Gannon and Sherlock are having in the city centre are vastly different from the ones that are relevant in my constituency. We do not have an issue with bags. Nor do we have the same street structures or networks.”
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“We must always strive to achieve and support those who are more vulnerable and who experience mental health crises. I particularly welcome the measures outlined in the budget that will see major investment next year in crisis supports and suicide prevention. I heard the Minister of State say at a press conference that this was her sixth budget in the portfolio. I have to say that while we will always find reasons to criticise Ministers and their performances, and challenge them to do better, I pay tribute to the Minister of State's commitment to this portfolio. She wears it very passionately and she believes in what the portfolio can do. I have seen some of the benefits and changes delivered in her time.”
“Tomorrow, Friday, 10 October, is World Mental Health Day. It was first celebrated in 1992 as an initiative of the World Federation for Mental Health. In many ways, the conversation on mental health has completely transformed since 1992 when I was a teenager. I look with great admiration to the many people who are able to talk about their mental health now. I distinguish between mental health and mental illness. We have come a long way on lifting the stigma from mental illness but we still have an incredibly long way to go. With regard to the budget and mental health, I welcome that the Minister of State is with us today and I welcome the commitment in the recent budget for funding of additional resources for mental health services. There have been significant developments in mental health resources in Ireland in recent years.”
“I urge the Government to continue to move towards the total abolition of the carer's allowance means test and to replace it with a payment for caring to ensure the dignity of the role is respected.”
“During last year’s general election campaign, I met many carers who were not eligible for the carer’s allowance because their partners either got overtime or a promotion. Many people felt it demeaning that their role in caring and the job they were doing were dependent on their partners’ incomes. I welcome the increase in the income disregard. If I am correct, this means a couple can earn up to €108,000 per year, excluding PRSI, and still receive the carer’s allowance. That will substantially address the concerns of a huge number of people who have fallen into the category I have mentioned. However, the principle still remains that their income or the job they are doing is dependent on the income of their partners. This is a fantastic and really important step forward.”
“It is a difficult situation for people to accept, namely that something is illegal and the law is being broken in such a significant way. Perhaps a review by the Department of this area is required.”
“I would welcome that correspondence. I point out the considerable work of Dublin Fire Brigade in trying to dissuade people. I also acknowledge the work of the local authorities, particularly Dublin City Council, in respect of pro-social activity. I encourage anybody in the city to come to either the Finglas Fright Night or the Ballymun Otherworld festival. They are fantastic family-fun events that are packed with culture and lots of local community celebrations. They are very positive. They have effectively eliminated bonfires in our area by providing an alternative. The issue of fireworks is complex. We do not necessarily want to be displacing significant amounts of Garda time, which we know is under pressure in a range of other areas.”
“I thank the Minister of State. He is correct that we are heading into the autumn season and Hallowe'en festivities. Increasingly every year, that season opens earlier. I heard reports in late August of this year of fireworks being used in my area. The Minister of State outlined the impact that fireworks had on animals, family pets, livestock and so on. They have an impact on other children as well, who feel less safe, particularly on Hallowe'en night. There is also a danger to people because, effectively, these are unregulated illegal products. They pose a danger. Are the penalties in place, particularly for importation and sale, sufficient? They currently stand at €10,000 or up to five years' imprisonment. If one were to go to any part of Dublin in the next couple of weeks, one would not know that fireworks were illegal.”
“However, they are looking for their funding to go from €1,500 to €2,500 per person to cover the basic costs. Whatever influence the Minister of State has over our colleague, the Minister, Deputy Chambers, I ask him to exert it. The Gaelic Players Association does fantastic work right across the country and Gaelic players contribute in the same way as do many other sportspeople. We should be investing in them. I appreciate the Minister of State's support.”
“There will be a fantastic new facility there that will benefit the entire region. I would like to see something similar being done in the area to provide a regional basketball facility. There are two issues I want to raise. Mention was made previously of funding for League of Ireland academies. They are really important and I will be emphasising whatever can be done in that regard, particularly in this budget and as we go forward. The second point concerns the Gaelic Players Association Indecon report. The value Gaelic players provide to the economy is very clear. People who box or play hockey can qualify for the elite athletes programme and avail of a stipend or podium funding of up to €30,000 or €40,000. Gaelic players are amateurs and they accept that.”
“As a colleague just noted, one can say very little in two minutes. I will start by saying something very easy, which is to thank the Minister of State, Deputy McConalogue, for the investment my constituency has seen, in hurling, football, soccer, tennis and so many different areas, through the sports capital grant. It has made a real difference to clubs in my area. He will be pleased to hear we are already preparing for the next round of funding. I have met with several groups about it. The Minister of State might come to the constituency to visit some of the projects that have been funded and to meet with the groups that will be putting in applications. I was particularly pleased with the regional funding that was given to a local school to make its facilities available to a regional sports body, Olympic Handball Ireland.”
“The Taoiseach may be aware that there are four capital projects currently under way in Beaumont Hospital which are at different stages. They include a new emergency department, a new 95-bed ward block, a 64-bed critical care unit and an extension to radiation and oncology departments. Will the Taoiseach give an assurance to the House that these projects will be funded and will be done in a timely way? Despite the complexity of it being a live campus site with services being continued, can we be assured that sufficient supports will be put in place to allow these important extensions to a hospital which serves the north side of Dublin?”
“I welcome the initiative for children and the impact that will have. I hope that means that Christopher in Whitehall will get his appointment sooner than December 2026. If I pass the details of the case on to the Minister of State, he might be able to pass them to the Minister for Health, who might be able to intervene in this matter. This is a very serious case. I raise it on behalf of one constituent but there are, of course, many more. Chime Ireland tells us it wants to see a waiting list initiative specifically for audiology services. In this case, it is in regard to Grangegorman, which is a great new primary care centre that serves much of the northside of Dublin. However, there are other centres around the country that also need waiting list initiatives. I appreciate the Minister of State's intervention on it.”
“I welcome the initiative for children. The Minister of State is right. That will free up capacity within the system for adults. I acknowledge those people with more urgent cases are seen more urgently than in December 2026, without that length of a waiting line. It is actually very difficult to track that because when we ask the HSE what the average waiting times for audiology services are, it tells us the system it uses will not allow it to calculate the average waiting times. It is very difficult to back up what the HSE is telling us in terms of the prioritisation of more serious cases and overall improvements. I accept the bona fides of the Minister for Health on this to progress the matter and to put in place the waiting list working group and the management of audiology services.”
“I am looking for the Minister for Health to take measures that might assist in waiting list initiatives specifically for audiology appointments. There has been some progress with children's audiology and I believe over €750,000 was identified for funding to try to fast-track those children who are waiting for audiology appointments. Whether you are young or old, the loss of your hearing is a very scary thing and is something that isolates you. I know that as many older people lose their hearing, they feel more and more removed from their own family, their neighbours and their friends. They perhaps do not attend the same events they would have attended. It can be a very isolating experience. It is for that reason I hope we might be able to take some measures on this matter. I would appreciate it if he could update the House.”
“In our constituency offices, we frequently receive queries about different State services and requests for appointments. Where possible we are able to make progress for people. Recently I was taken aback when Christopher, a constituent of mine from Whitehall, contacted me regarding an audiology appointment. It was in fact his daughter who was in touch with me. He was informed that the soonest audiology appointment which would be available to him would be in December 2026. I am assured that urgent cases are dealt with more speedily, but that is of little comfort to Christopher who is seeking an appointment and who is slowly losing the hearing that he has. I understand from Chime that this is not unique and that over 8,000 people are waiting for audiology appointments.”
“This is a much bigger societal issue. Those conversations need to happen alongside the very necessary legislative and structural changes the Department is making. I thank the Minister for his support.”
“If you are old-fashioned you would just call it unacceptable behaviour. Often among young men, those types of unacceptable comments can develop but young men want to be empowered to call that stuff out too. I call out organisations like the GAA in particular, which is doing a huge among of work to empower young men. This is not about targeting or stigmatising young men. It is about empowering them to call out what they know to be behaviour that is unacceptable. It is a spectrum of offences we are talking about here and I am not conflating them in any way. It is about calling out unacceptable behaviour against women at a young age with trusted organisations on the ground and funding those organisations to support them to do it. We need to work with youth centres, which are right across our communities doing that work.”
“Even the very description of the new legislation coming through and that it would be known as Jennie's law is very important to the family. What is more important to them is that the law will have a direct impact on those people who may be impacted in the future. When Jason first came to meet myself and some of my colleagues, the Minister will remember Jason also spoke about other areas where we could improve the response to domestic violence and the outcomes of families who are impacted by it. Some of those measures have been taken, for example around the custody of children where a partner may be indicted in the crime of murder against their parent. However, there remains others, perhaps more societal steps, which we have to take too. I refer to the calling out of what might be called micro-aggressions.”
“I thank the Minister for the work he has done along with Senator O'Loughlin and Jason to try to progress a Bill which would provide a register to put in place information that future victims may be able to avail of. In a modern world with lots of rights and balancing of those rights, it can be difficult to put in place such a register but I know the Minister is determined to do that along with his other Government colleagues. Jennie was a wonderful young woman. She was from Finglas, beloved by her local GAA club Erin's Isle. She was a home care worker. She had two children who are now looked after by the Poole family. Sometimes, in all of the discussion around Jennie's law, Jennie's own memory is forgotten but the Poole family are determined not to allow that happen.”
“It is very clear that we have taken measures but we have to do more and we need to continue to do more. I also particularly welcome the attempts to try to capture what is happening. I understand the CEO is now working on a domestic violence survey to provide more accurate prevalence data to follow on from previous sexual violence studies, which have dated over time. I believe Cuan is involved in that too. I wish to focus on an area the Minister and I have worked on for some time and that is the issue of Jennie's law. Jennie's brother Jason has been a tireless advocate for his sister and for their family who had direct impact with a most extreme outcome, the death of their sister.”
“I also join others in calling out the scourge of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence in our society. It should be called out at all junctures - in WhatsApp groups, in sports clubs, in our local pubs and here in the Dáil. I acknowledge the work of the Minister's predecessor, Deputy McEntee, in terms of the legislation, which Deputy Connolly has previously referenced, and also the structural changes and the funding that has gone with it. As has also been referenced, this is an increasing phenomenon. Local gardaí raised it specifically with us in our local policing forum when they talked about areas of crime which were expanding. Women's Aid highlighted that in its annual report when it referred to getting over 40,000 disclosures during 28,000 contacts. That would amount to an 18% increase in disclosures of domestic abuse.”
“I raise the issue of lengthy waiting times for oncology services in the Mater. This issue was brought to my attention by a constituent of mine called Maura, who was referred by her GP in early February for an urgent ten-day appointment with BreastCheck. Unfortunately, it was May when she received a letter, and she was told there was a five-month waiting list for an urgent ten-day appointment. The Minister knows the important work that unit does in saving many women's lives. I put in a parliamentary question asking for details of it. While those details spoke about retention and staffing issues and capacity, I believe we need to make an intervention. While I am aware of the case of Maura, I am not aware of many other women who might be waiting, not just five weeks, but five months.”
“Perhaps a redress scheme would be overly complex and result in people receiving justice delayed. Equally, we should not be placing the burden on victims of having to sue the State. That is not necessarily the best way forward. We have seen in other cases where people's only option is to sue the State and often justice is incredibly delayed. Perhaps there is a mechanism here to try to mediate this and to try to come forward with a non-adversarial solution. The criminal justice process is not an option because the person is deceased but there are also questions about what the State knew about this gentleman's service. He worked for the Probation Service for decades. It is incredibly important that whatever information or files are available to the Department of justice are reviewed and we air what was known.”
“Unfortunately, for victims of abuse, there is a stigma in coming forward, but if you were also the subject of the Probation Service, there is almost a double stigma in coming forward because you have to reveal that as well.”
“I appreciate the Minister outlining in detail the previous work that has been done on this case. As he said, there is now confirmation by the Department of two reports of allegations of child sexual abuse. In the Minister's words, they relate to a "deceased" member of the Probation Service. Of course, this matter has also been the topic of much media coverage. The "RTÉ Investigates" programme carried out an investigation, entitled "Scouts Dishonour", in which it referred to the then chief scout, the late Joe Lawlor, and allegations in regard to him and his service in the Probation Service. Joe Duffy, on RTÉ, has also discussed this case in much detail. I appreciate that these cases are incredibly sensitive.”
“-----and the sites with full planning permission are given priority so we can get shovels into the ground and these homes can be built. They are the way forward for how we provide housing. That is what Housing for All is all about. We have hit a speed bump. We cannot pay any figure that is presented to us but we also have to act with urgency to find an alternative.”
“I ask the Minister for public expenditure and the Minister for housing to ensure the Dublin local authorities and the other local authorities impacted are presented quickly with a solution-----”
“I thank the Minister. As I say, when people see sites under construction they have some hope and belief that things are changing. When planning went out for these sites they saw the designs and plans for them. There is an expectation. I welcome that the Minister is taking this seriously and urgently. I also agree with the Minister. As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, I will not stand over the Government spending more than €1 million per unit. I can understand the difficulty. Just because a developer puts in a figure does not mean the Government has to pay that amount to deliver. I accept that but what we cannot accept is any significant delay.”
“While we have to have value for money, we also want to see some of these sites, which have full planning permission, proceed.”
“The Collins Avenue site is the Port Tunnel site which many people will have driven past. On the Church of the Annunciation site, an old church was demolished in partnership with the parish and we were able to identify potential for housing on that site. On Wellmount Road, we had a green space that was the subject of antisocial behaviour and we were able to put in place a solution. On the Collins Avenue bring centre, the DCU site, we relocated an old Dublin City Council depot, created a new one and created a site in the city. In Balcurris, we brought a number of sites together as a bundle. These are all measures the local authority has taken, on which solutions have been brought forward using the tools available in Housing for All. We are very concerned.”
“People are delighted to see construction taking place and homes being built. It was with some disappointment that we saw the Minister decide not to proceed with bundle 3. That bundle included nearly 500 homes, 200 of those are in my constituency, at Shangan Road and Collins Avenue. That has an impact on the broader bundles that are outstanding, bundles 4 to 7, inclusive, because of the 4,500 housing units across the whole country, over 1,000 are in my constituency. I am, therefore, particularly concerned about the future of these bundles and their delivery. These bundles do exactly what local authorities should be doing. They involve taking sites with complex issues, resolving those issues and putting them out to tender for construction. The Shangan Road site, for example, is a dedicated older persons’ complex.”
“I express my condolences to the family of Brother Kevin Crowley and in particular his colleagues who he worked with. As a freeman of Dublin city, he was a Cork man who made a huge impact on our city. I want to acknowledge that today. I raise bundle 3 and the Minister’s decision not to proceed with the tendering process related to that bundle. I served on Dublin City Council for ten years and for the best part of those ten years, we had public sites on which we wanted to build homes. We wanted to do that in a way that provided mixed communities. In recent years, Housing for All has given Dublin City Council the ability to build those mixed communities on those public sites through cost-rental, affordable and social housing. Across my constituency, many sites are proceeding on that basis, Oscar Traynor Road being the largest.”
“I still have issues with certain elements of it but the core bus corridors will be important in providing high-frequency access. Those are my three asks. I wish the Minister the best of luck in his portfolio. It is the first time I have had the opportunity to ask him questions on it. I look forward to working with him on it.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire. I see we are making good progress on that. We will keep a watchful eye and ensure it continues. Many people on the other side of the constituency will hope for the delivery of the metro project with the same urgency. It is a far more complex and detailed project but one that has been promised for some time. The review of the national development plan is happening in the next couple of weeks. Those two key projects in my constituency are really important, along with the BusConnects projects. The core bus corridors are the quickest and easiest ways to deliver better public transport in our areas. The network design was not uncontroversial and there was a great deal of input from people.”
“That line was intended for a railway project many decades ago. While this is being prioritised, there is a legacy here. This will deliver for our constituency. I want to ensure the Minister is aware of it, which he is, and that we keep the pressure on the NTA and TII to deliver it.”
“It is very welcome that we will have a planning decision by 30 September. The Minister is right that the decision to bring it to the Cabinet for gate 1 was really important. The Minister, Deputy Lawless, really assisted us in doing that. He came on site and examined the potential of it. I was pleased the Cabinet signed off on that. Almost all the Luas projects that have happened have gone through the planning and procurement phase in one five-year cycle and in the second five years they have been constructed and delivered. That is where we need to focus now. We are looking beyond planning and procurement to the potential of the site. It has the potential to unlock more housing in the area, which is crucial. When we built Finglas west and Finglas south, there was a line through the middle of it.”
“I want to raise an issue that is identified in the national development programme, which is the Finglas Luas project. It is a fantastic project that makes a lot of sense, with 4 km and four stops connecting it to an existing line that will give access to thousands of people in my constituency. We are one of the few constituencies in the country that does not have rail services. We are entirely reliant on bus services. However, we hope the Finglas Luas will come out of planning this year, and we want to make sure that next year it goes to construction.”
“I compliment my colleague from Dublin 15. Representatives from that area have been working on the issue of drones for some time. Griffith Avenue residents have raised it on the basis that drone use is expanding to new areas. While it currently relates to food deliveries, we can only imagine the impact it would have if, for example, all parcel deliveries were to be transferred to drones in a short space of time. The issue here is also about the planning application for the site. We have time restrictions on when we can have takeaways operating. We also need to have time restrictions on when drone deliveries of all sorts can be used.”
“Under the auspices of the Labour Employer Economic Forum and the relationship he has with the trade union movement, will the Taoiseach examine ways that pensioners who have retired might have a greater input into the pension schemes which they have paid into over many years?”
“The Labour Employer Economic Forum is an important opportunity for members of the trade union movement to make representations to the Government with regard to the labour market and the issues which impact it. Legislation has been put forward in this House with regard to the rights of pensioners, particularly pensioners of many State bodies, who after retiring have very little input into the changes to the pension scheme which may impact them. In some cases that relates to increases that may or may not be due, but also we have seen in other sectors changes to the very nature of the scheme itself.”
“I look forward to engaging with the Minister of State on that issue too, which is part of the broader spectrum of support for people with acquired brain injuries, strokes, Parkinson's disease and so on.”
“I encourage the Minister of State to engage with the Neurological Alliance of Ireland. It is a strong organisation. I know the Minister of State has met its representatives. Tomorrow she will visit my constituency and a member organisation of the Neurological Alliance of Ireland, An Síol, which deals with longer term treatments. It is keen to get a permanent home. It has identified a site with Dublin City Council. In the HSE capital plan, money has been put in place to do the feasibility study for that. The director is a fantastic man. He is originally from Germany and he does not understand Irish bureaucracy. He wants it to happen now because of the patients.”
“It is crucial we put that in place. I ask the Minister of State to do all in her power as part of the budgetary process to attract funding for it.”
“I agree with the Minister of State that these services are incredibly important. The multidisciplinary nature of the teams provides intensive neuro-rehabilitation at critical times and they assist with acute hospital discharges. Studies have shown that, on average, they save up to three days per patient, but they are also a critical intervention. Any multidisciplinary approach to patients can improve patient outcomes. I was pleased to see the additional four areas, particularly in south and west Dublin, being allocated. This is a need across the country. While I am a TD for my constituency, I recognise that this is a new area of care and one the Government wants to implement and it is being done on a phased basis. I would not be happy if, in the coming 12 months, after this year, no provision had been made for Dublin north and east.”
“I recently met with the Neurological Alliance of Ireland who raised a number of questions with me. They were specifically interested in the programme for Government commitment, which seeks to put in place community neuro-rehabilitation teams. I was particularly concerned when they alerted me to the fact that north Dublin, the area that covers my constituency, does not currently have a community neuro-rehabilitation team. Will the Minister update the House on the matter?”
“While the pay and conditions of staff are incredibly important, the physical buildings in which they operate are also important. While I particularly welcome the building blocks programme which was an important initiative, the Minister and I know the limitations of that. We could do with a few more bob from the Department of public expenditure - if it was giving it to the Minister - but also for the cap on it. Unfortunately, in Dublin, the €750,000 cap prevents some of the really good, experienced, community-led childcare programmes from expanding. I ask the Minister to continue to do all she can in this area in providing more capital funding, as well the pay and conditions for staff.”
“At this point we need certainty on funding for the task force. Whether that comes from central government or whether we are going to enable local government to raise the funding, one way or the other, funding is the crucial step needed to deliver the task force.”
“I know that, as a Cork man, the Taoiseach will join me in saying how great Dublin city is, but as great as it is, we certainly have challenges, especially in the city centre. The task force report was an important way of identifying those challenges. The challenge now will be delivering them. Within the Dublin City Council structure, there certainly seems to be the appetite to establish a dedicated vehicle to deal with the issues relating to derelict sites and also to fund improvements and additional services, for example, the business improvement district scheme which applies an additional levy on ratepayers in the city, something that Fianna Fáil introduced at the time. I am not opposed to a tourism levy and introducing legislation would allow the local authorities to decide whether they want to apply one.”
“I disagree with some Members of this House who said nothing has changed since Leas Cross. Any basic assessment of the framework would state that this is not true. We now have HIQA. As other Members have said, HIQA does much good work. The methodologies need to be examined. We need to talk more about the basic care and have a greater focus on it, but let us not run away from what happened here. An undercover camera captured what no inspector would ever see and captured behaviour that was effectively being hidden. The people directly responsible for carrying out those services, who manage those services and are paid to run those services are the ones responsible.”
“As a member of the Committee of Public Accounts, this is a procurement issue. We are procuring services from these providers. I understand that millions of euro were going into Beneavin alone every year. Somebody needs to stand over the delivery of that procurance. It is not about standards. Standards and HIQA are important, but if I am the customer procuring the service, I should also be responsible for ensuring that the service is delivered. There should be an independent standards authority. However, the HSE, the nursing home support scheme and, in essence, the Government, are the ones procuring this service. We have to make sure we are getting value for money. I am thinking of all those families. The way we make this better is by improving what we have.”