Peadar Tóibín
Meath West · Aontú · Ireland
“Lonely Planet. It did a review of Dublin and stated, "Once Dublin’s grand boulevard, O'Connell St has struggled with decline". It stated that vacant buildings, derelict upper floors and long-stalled redevelopments leave this part looking neglected while retail has shifted elsewhere and been replaced by fast food shops that dilute its char…”
“The Irish people are a generous and decent people and have been over the past number of years, with the provision of supports to people from Ukraine who are fleeing the war. This is right and just. The war unleashed on Ukraine is absolutely wrong. Aontú will support the reduction in the rate of payment under the scheme.”
“I am very disappointed to see that the Government, the Social Democrats, the Labour Party, the Green Party and People Before Profit will vote against an amendment that wants to means test the payment, as an amendment also did on the previous occasion, and put it on a level footing with other housing assistance payments.”
“Landlords are rational and they will make economic decisions to best suit themselves. Landlords have been more inclined to take on Ukrainian tenants over Irish tenants in recent years. This system is discriminatory. It gives an advantage to guests in the country over the people who have lived here for most of their lives.”
“Anyone who sat the leaving certificate economics paper just a few weeks ago will know that demand also has a role. It determines what rents are, the price of houses, etc. It is physics and maths and not ideology. We need to get to a situation where we equalise supply with demand.”
“A global study by TomTom indicated that it is the 38th most congested city globally, behind cities such as London, Toronto and Rome. The task force indicated that the Cork Luas system would be built. That Luas system is in planning and that planning is taking a long while.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,244 lines we hold for Peadar Tóibín, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 18 of 25.
“There is no doubt the repeated consumption of violent scenes is changing the nature of young boys and young men in relation to relationships. There is an ocean of evidence now pointing in that direction. Even the children's ombudsman in England has written extensively about how this is a significant cause of sexual violence. We have seen high-profile cases in this country such as the case of Ana Kriegel. It was a heartbreaking, shocking case where the perpetrators - young boys - had accessed horrific violence on their phones. There were thousands of images of murder and sexual violence. That should have been enough for the Government to be kick-started into action but it was not. I introduced a Bill that would ban the provision of hardcore violent pornography to young children.”
“Research at the school of psychology in the University of Galway has shown that almost 60% of teenage boys in this State had consumed hardcore pornography before the age of 13. Pornography has become so easily accessible that many parents find it virtually impossible to exercise control over what their children consume. I spoke to a parent recently who told me that over Christmas their ten-year-old was on their iPad, which they checked. There were two searches. The first search was about Santa Claus and the second was a violent display of oral sex. This is the situation for young children in this country. It is happening at a younger age. It is altering the perceptions of sex and the understanding of healthy relationships. It is leading to physical and mental health problems and addiction.”
“I have no doubt the Minister is personally appalled by all of these aspects. I respect that the Minister is dedicated to trying to resolve some of these issues that are happening in the country at the moment. The Minister spoke about challenging the norms leading to sexual violence. Another Fianna Fáil TD spoke about zero tolerance. I have no doubt the norms leading to this violence are not being challenged. I have no doubt there is not a zero tolerance approach by this Government. The criminal justice system is not being used to shut down the perpetrators of these crimes. Today, eight- and nine-year-olds are accessing explicit hardcore materials that would have been illegal for viewing by adults just a generation ago.”
“Children at Risk in Ireland, CARI, a specialist and professional therapy service for children, found that child-on-child abuse has increased by 44% in the past two years. Marina Porter, the manager of the Donegal Sexual Abuse and Rape Crisis Centre, said, "What we have observed is that the level of physical violence accompanying sexual violence has seriously escalated over the last couple of months ... We have also seen that [there are] multiple perpetrators in one crime ... and this is highly concerning." The culture of this country is radically changing. That has to be recognised. Between 1996 and today, 275 women have died violently in this country, 180 have been killed in their own homes and 20 children have died during the incidents where these women died violently. Each one of these deaths is a catastrophe and an absolute disaster.”
“The figure for domestic abuse in just the first quarter of 2024 was nearly the same as that for the whole year of 2014. Domestic abuse call-outs to the Garda have quadrupled in the space of four years. The number of women who have been raped in Ireland is almost treble the rate in the EU. In 2022, the average number of women reporting rape in Ireland stood at 34 per 100,000 women. That is significantly higher than the 12 per 100,000 across six EU countries with comparable statistics. These are shocking figures. I do not believe the State even recognises what is happening at the moment regarding domestic violence and domestic assaults against women. The perpetrators of these crimes are getting younger and younger.”
“Ireland is becoming a more violent place. The rates of domestic violence, sexual violence and rape are all increasing. The society we have created over the past number of decades has led to Ireland becoming more violent for women. Day in, day out, lives are being destroyed. In 2011,1,958 sexual offences were recorded. In 2021, this figure had increased by 75%, to 3,433. In 2011, 447 rapes were recorded. In 2021, that figure doubled to 983. I submitted a parliamentary question to the former Minister for Justice in relation to domestic violence. The Garda Síochána provided results from the PULSE database on reports of domestic abuse in this State. In 2014, there were 14,264 cases where domestic abuse was considered a motive. In 2023, it was 46,439.”
“During the week, I raised the fact that 12% of cancer patients in the north west are not getting their treatment on time. Why is it that 27 years after the Good Friday Agreement there is still no overarching framework for cross-Border cancer care?”
“Catherine Sherry was 42 years old when she died of lymphoma cancer. She lived with her husband and young children just across the Border, in Newry. The special treatment she needed was not available in the North of Ireland but was available just one hour away in Dublin. Her heartbroken husband, Fergal, said she was forced to travel to London for that treatment and that travel significantly weakened her just when she needed her strength for that treatment. It also meant she could not be with her three sons during the final weeks of her life. Clinicians have said that there is very little cross-Border cancer activity happening, aside from Altnagelvin hospital in Derry. Altnagelvin just treats 300 people annually. One in five cancer patients from Donegal uses Altnagelvin, the rest must go to Galway or Dublin.”
“While the Tánaiste has been stronger than many of his European counterparts in standing up for the people of Palestine, and I grant that is the case, the European Union is still very cold in how it is dealing with Gaza. Ursula von der Leyen strode the world’s stage stating that she would underwrite the IDF’s actions at the start of this process. I believe she distorted the foreign policy of this country and other European countries when she made those statements. She has been defended by members of the Tánaiste’s party. It is interesting that Mairead McGuinness defended Ursula von der Leyen amid the backlash on Gaza. She said Ursula von der Leyen should be "judged by her record in the round" and is extremely strong in terms of humanitarian aid and she does not doubt her credentials at all of this topic.”
“Those two groups have had a completely different material difference in relation to this. Will the Tánaiste formally ask the Minister for justice to intervene on this and see if visas can be provided for these children?”
“I agree there should be rules and checks. Nobody has said that more in this Chamber than me probably in recent years. However, I have also said it needs to be compassionate. That is something the Tánaiste has said too and that there should be a strict system and compassionate response. There are dozens of children unaccompanied coming to this country annually at the moment anyway. That is the state of the situation. Look at the two approaches between Ukraine and Palestine. There are 112,189 people from Ukraine here. They do not need a visa. They are considered, for their temporary situation, to be nearly European citizens in what they can do. I understand that. On the other side, we have 33 Palestinian children from the GAA Palestine project. It is very obvious there is a two-tier approach that is materially different.”
“The slaughter in Gaza is one of the biggest stains on the international community. The killing of 57,700 people in Gaza is a war crime of massive proportions. It is happening in large part because it is underwritten by the West. It is underwritten by the US and many countries in the European Union. The approach of the West to the war in Ukraine and the war in Palestine could not be more different. Ireland’s approach could also not be more different. Is the refusal of visas for the 33 Palestinian children from the GAA Palestine project not an example of this?”
“Thankfully, cancer survival rates are increasing but that is in large part because there are better medicines, better technology and improved treatments and not necessarily because of the extra services the Government is providing throughout the country. Will the Taoiseach deal with the facts? The facts are stark. The Irish Cancer Society said today that there is a geographic determinant in relation to whether people get the treatment they need on time. Waiting lists in certain counties are five or six times the targets.”
“We do not have centres of excellence in many places; we have centres of waiting lists. Today, the Irish Cancer Society said that we have centres of bare adequacy. Those are the words it used. The Taoiseach mentioned extra resources but these do not keep up with inflation, with population increases or with the ageing population of the country and, in many areas of the HSE, they are not getting to the front line. They are getting caught up. We also do not have the necessary staff. We in Aontú found out that 13,000 nurses have left this country in the past five years. That is an incredible figure. In some years, the majority of graduating doctors leave the country.”
“If she is diagnosed in another public hospital, she has an 81% chance of surviving but if she is diagnosed in a private hospital, she has a 93% chance of survival. If you diagnosed with breast cancer in Sweden, you are 7% more likely to survive than if you had been diagnosed in this State. If you are diagnosed with breast cancer in England, you are 5% more likely to survive than in this country. It is an incredible situation. When is the system going to stop dividing patients by postcode and income? When is the HSE going to deliver cancer treatments on an equal basis throughout the country?”
“I know what it is like to have cancer growing inside you. I know the stress it creates. I know the first thing you want to do is to get it cut out and to get chemo to zap it if you can. I also know that delayed treatments mean radically worse outcomes for people. Delayed treatments mean cancer can spread throughout your body. People are dying in this country for the want of treatment. The Irish Cancer Society has said that the Government has met only one of the six targets it set itself. Aontú has also discovered that there is a 12% differential in breast cancer survival rates in public and private hospitals in this country. A woman who is diagnosed with breast cancer in a designated centre has an 85% chance of survival.”
“On Monday I met with doctors in Letterkenny and they told me that just 12% of cancer patients in that hospital receive treatment within the recommended 15 working day timeframe. Patients are waiting seven to eight weeks for treatment in Galway at the moment. The National Cancer Control Programme has written to Aontú to say the HSE is failing to meet its own radiation treatment targets. In the year to August 2024, treatment targets were met only once in Galway and only once in Cork. Cancer services in the north west are being shut down and cancer services in Galway, Waterford and Limerick do not have the necessary PET scanners. We have antique radiotherapy equipment breaking down. Treatment is regularly being cancelled because certain scanners are breaking down over and over again. I have had cancer.”
“Where one lives in Ireland is a significant determinant of whether one will survive cancer or die from it. In Ireland today counties and postcodes should have Government health warnings. When a cancer diagnosis happens in a family, a dark cloud descends. While there obviously is hope in terms of treatment, there is no doubt that for serious cancers, every moment of the day is consumed with whether or not one is going to make it. Today the Irish Cancer Society released damning information which shows significant variations with regard to access to cancer diagnostics and treatments. Life-saving chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatments are being denied to patients because of where they live.”
“I welcome this motion by the Social Democrats. I am worried that the Government will sit on its hands as usual and families will be assaulted over and over again by these costs.”
“They have been allowed to operate in this regard by the Government for many years. I met staff from the food regulator's office recently. They told me about an investigation they did into the price of eggs. They said they went into a number of different supermarkets, including Aldi, Lidl, Dunnes Stores, and asked for the price of eggs in those locations. They were told, "No, tough, you are not getting the information." The Government was so brave. It gave the power to the food regulator to ask the companies for information, but those companies can still give the two fingers to the food regulator and say, "Absolutely not." The Government needs to give the power to compel that information to the food regulator so we can understand exactly what is happening in these companies as to how they are gouging the customer.”
“It took in more in energy taxes last year in the jaws of a cost-of-living crisis than has ever been collected before. Carbon taxes topped €1 billion last year and it is hardwired in that they are going to continue to rise for the next five years. Another problem in this State is the supermarket sector and the food processing sector are both oligopolies. They have been allowed develop into oligopolies and they have oligopoly power. Their strong buyer power means can force down the prices coming from farmers, whether they are in arable or meat. A small number of these sectors with enormous power are pushing down the prices for the people who are providing the food and, at the other end, they are actually pushing up the prices of products going to the families.”
“Ireland is the second-most expensive country in Europe. It is quite incredible we have a situation where parents are lying awake at night not knowing how they are going to pay certain bills. I know parents who, as soon as their monthly wages drop in, go into another overdraft to keep them going until the wages next come in. The Barnardos report yesterday was absolutely shocking. For some reason we have considered this to be an extremely wealthy country, but so many families here are living just on the margins when it comes to being able to cover their costs. That there are 250,000 children in poverty is an indictment of this Government and its policies. One of the biggest creators of inflation and cost in the country is the Government. It took in €4.1 billion in energy taxes last year. It is incredible.”
“It is really important that the Government gives a strong answer. The European Union has given the Government just until Monday to comply with European law when it comes to hate speech. That is only four or five days away.”
“The German police violently broke up pro-Palestinian marches. Pro-Palestinian protesters in universities in the Netherlands have been arrested. As the Minister knows, Ireland has a very different view to most Europe countries on the slaughter that is happening in Gaza at the moment.”
“Less than a year ago the Government made a U-turn on hate speech. The Tánaiste, Deputy Harris, overruled the former Minister for justice and made a pragmatic decision. Unlike this House, the majority of Irish people oppose any censorship laws. There was some sniggering in the Chamber a little while ago when a speaker suggested that hate speech could be turned against political parties in this House. Many Members are foolish in thinking that hate speech is for other people. The hate speech laws are a threat to the right, the centre and the left. They are a threat to democracy. I will give an example of that. The Israeli foreign minister accused the Tánaiste, Deputy Harris, of hate speech. He said Simon Harris was guilty of being anti-Semitic. Right through Europe at the moment, pro-Palestinian activists are being clamped down on.”
“If you hold that generation up against this generation, there is a massive chasm between the two. It is a chasm that, unfortunately, I do not believe the Government will bridge. I urge the Government at this stage to not treat the GPO like Moore Street. Do not treat the GPO like Bodenstown. Do not treat it like The O'Rahilly House. Lift it up into the cultural asset, educational opportunity and wonderful heritage that it is, and allow the people of Ireland to enjoy it for generations.”
“It was at one stage the same as the Arts Council and now the Arts Council receives multiples of the amount of money the Irish language does. The values that seemed to be hard-wired into the revolutionary period and the Proclamation of the Republic were to cherish "all of the children of the nation equally " - 600,000 children are in poverty at the moment - and the right of the Irish people to own this country, yet the Government is handing it away lock, stock and barrel. It is handing over sovereignty as regards neutrality. It is currently looking to get rid of the triple lock mechanism. All the political aspirations for independence are being removed. That is why I believe this Government has no meas for the heritage of the country and why I think it is embarrassed by it.”
“You expect to see German soldiers on the street because the museum is so powerful. It is in phenomenal demand from locals and international tourists. It is extremely educational with regard to what happened during the Second World War. The educational use alone is profound, yet when we ask the Government to do something similar with our national heritage, it is ignored. I will talk about one other aspect of national heritage, namely the Irish language. The Irish language is another thing the Government treats like rubbish. There are fewer children going to Gaelscoileanna now than ten years ago. Is that not an incredible statistic to trot out? The level of money going into Foras na Gaeilge is reducing every year.”
“I have seen Ministers go out to the gates of Leinster House on a regular basis putting their hands around campaign groups, saying "Yes" to them, getting into the photographs and giving big smiles and then coming into Leinster House and vote against them. The same happened when I tabled a Bill to make sure Moore Street would be recognised as a national monument. Fianna Fáilers and Fine Gaelers got up one after another to say they supported the objective, yet they voted against my Bill. There is a deep level of cynicism and lack of truth when it comes to the Government on developing Moore Street. I had the opportunity, thankfully, to visit the Anne Frank museum in Amsterdam and I remember it. It is an immersive museum. When you look out the window, you feel like you are in 1944.”
“The problem I have in all of this is that the particular site that includes the GPO and Moore Street offers wonderful opportunities to this country. It offers an opportunity for a heritage, cultural centre that could be the heartbeat of both the city and the country. It offers an opportunity for the use of the Irish language and for theatre, writing and the arts to have a home, yet the Government has allowed a building contractor to develop plans to smash through the terrace which the soldiers of the Republic tried to tunnel through to make their escape, beside where The O'Rahilly was killed in a hail of bullets by the British. It is just bonkers. The reason I do not believe the Government is that one of the attributes of the Government when it says "No" is to say "Yes".”
“That is what the Government thinks of the national monument that is Moore Street. The Government actually went to court to take away national monument status from Moore Street. That is what it thinks of Moore Street. Here we are again, treating the very centre or ground zero of the revolution, the GPO, badly by turning it into some tatty type of shopping centre. It is an incredibly poor thing. The Government allowed The O'Rahilly's house to be completely demolished overnight. I made pleas directly over and over to then Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, to stop it happening and the Government sat on its hands. Then a few weeks later, Micheál Martin said it should not have happened, but when he had the power to do something, he remained completely silent about it.”
“The very fact Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have divorced themselves from the objective of the Proclamation to make sure self-determination is a 32-county experience is another reason the southern Government is so embarrassed by all this. To recognise the value the Government places on these objectives and the heritage sites, it is important to look at the actions of the Government in how it treats those heritage sites. Deputy Stanley mentioned correctly what is happening to Bodenstown at the moment. It is an incredibly cheap abuse of such an important site in Irish history. What happened in Moore Street is unforgivable. Moore Street was meant to be completely redeveloped, fixed and sorted out in 2016. That was the original promise of the Government. Right now, Moore Street is a location for alcoholism, drugs, urination and defecation.”
“The current Government does not hold the same objective as the people of 1916. The biggest issue for the people of 1916 was self-determination and sovereignty. Micheál Martin has said even in this Chamber that he does not agree with backward looking aspects of sovereignty. His disagrees with the idea that the Irish people are sovereign. Another example of why I think the Government is embarrassed by this is that the Union Jack still flies over Six Counties in this country. Just 70 miles away, the Union Jack flies. Again, it stands for other people making decisions for Irish people. It stands for people in Islington making decisions around Brexit, for people in Finchley making decisions about taxes or people in Birmingham making decisions about how royalties for resources in the North of Ireland are paid to the British Crown.”
“Self-determination is one of the key aspects of a proper, progressive, functioning society and if London, Brussels or Berlin makes decisions, they will not be as good as the decisions made by the Irish people. It is interesting that every Minister in the Dáil has the power to be a Minister because of the sacrifice that was made in the GPO. The very sovereignty they are using to turn the GPO into a shopping centre comes from the death and destruction that happened to the revolutionaries in the GPO. It is an amazing insult that the Government would use that sovereignty in such a disgusting way, by destroying the GPO and what it stands for. One of the reasons I think this is happening is that the Government is embarrassed by the GPO, the Proclamation and 1916 because when it holds itself up against the objectives of 1916, it fails massively.”
“It was a generation not far from the damage of An Gorta Mór, the Famine, when 1 million people died and 1 million people were forced to emigrate. The Irish nation at that time was on its knees and yet this generation set the objective of trying to remove a flag - and all it stood for - that was in this country for 500 years and they succeeded in lighting the fire that led to the War of Independence success for the Twenty-six Counties. They did not do it for a pipe dream. They did it because there was an existential threat, that if Ireland was ruled from abroad, the rulers would not take into consideration the needs of the country. They knew that London's rule over the country had an enormously damaging effect. That is the case.”
“It remains a document that is still in the making. It is our objective to make sure that happens. We need to understand the significance of the GPO and the Moore Street area. It is a national monument. It is one of, if not, the most important battlefield in the country. It was the headquarters of 1916. It is seminal in the moment of the birth of this nation, the ground zero of the independence struggle. One hundred and ten years ago the Union Jack flew over this city and every county across the country. That flag, or some version of it, flew for approximately 500 years in this country. It represented the largest empire the world has ever seen and it seemed immovable. The generation that came in 1916 was probably one of the weakest generations Ireland had ever seen.”
“Aontú will table an amendment to the Government's amendment simply seeking that the Dáil commit to respecting the heritage and the legacy of the leaders of 1916; ending the destruction of key national monuments such as The O'Rahilly home and Moore Street; implementing the Moore Street Preservation Trust's plan for Moore Street; developing the GPO as a national cultural museum of the national struggle for independence; and proposing that part of the GPO be used to pursue the implementation of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic across the Thirty-two Counties. In many ways, the most significant use of the GPO should be to make sure it is the engine of delivery of the Proclamation. The Proclamation is the foundation document of this country. It embodies many of the values Irish people hold and yet it remains unfulfilled.”
“All political parties are welcome to speak at the event. Issues of this importance means that petty political differences should be set aside. We need to work together to make sure we send a strong statement to the Government that this is completely unacceptable. I thank all the campaigners who have been working in the Moore Street area for decades, especially the Moore Street Preservation Trust and the other campaigners who have dedicated so much time to try to lift Moore Street out of the squalor it has been left in and to raise it up to the heritage and cultural quarter that it could and should be. I was very proud to serve on the consultative forum for many years along with those campaigners and some of the traders from Moore Street.”
“I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To insert the following after "restoration and conservation of the National Monument at 14-17 Moore Street": "; and commits to: — respecting the heritage and legacy of the leaders of 1916; — ending the destruction of key National Monuments such as the O'Rahilly Home and Moore Street; — implementing the Moore Street Preservation Trust plan for Moore Street; — developing the GPO as a national cultural museum of the national struggle for independence; and — purposing part of the GPO to pursue implementation of the Proclamation of the Irish Republic across the 32 counties of Ireland.". Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Aengus Ó Snodaigh as an rún seo a chur faoi bhráid na Dála inniu. There will be a protest outside of the GPO on Tuesday, 8 July at 7 p.m.”
“For this child, there is a tragic and direct link between the lack of essential services available to him and his ability to grow and thrive in an educational system. I ask that the Minister talk to me and the parents to see whether there is a pathway for the parent to vindicate the child's right.”
“The foster mother contacted Tusla, CAMHS, the disability services and social workers and has even tried to contact private psychologists, but everywhere she turns, she is met with a wall of delays. When Tusla found out that she had contacted me, it actually scolded her for contacting a TD in this situation, casting a chilling effect on her and her ability to advocate for her foster son. That is a shocking situation and I come up against it on a regular basis where TDs cannot advocate on behalf of citizens. There should be a constitutional right for TDs to be able to advocate in a situation where the rights of children are being denied and the efforts of parents are being spurned. What is the Minister of State's advice for my constituent when her foster child is being refused an assessment and his legal right to education?”
“The Minister, Deputy Foley, told the Cabinet that this was misinformation. She said that information being put out was highly insulting, but listen to the families themselves, the families who are at the coalface of this crisis. The Government would do well just to sit down and speak to the families in this situation. I will give an example from my constituency. I have been contacted by the foster mother of a seven-year-old boy who presents with very complex behavioural needs. That child has unfortunately been expelled from two preschools and suspended from a primary school four times. He is now being deprived of his rights to an education and has been abandoned by the system for nearly two years of waiting.”
“The Taoiseach is on the record as saying that the HSE is not in a position to fulfil the law on assessments of need and that this should be completed within a six-month timeframe, but because of this situation, there is now a chance that 25,000 children will be on that waiting list before the end of the year. We in Aontú stood with Cara Darmody outside the gates of Leinster House recently when she was involved in that 50-hour protest trying to seek the right to have assessments of need given in a timely fashion. Children without assessments of need are often left without a diagnosis, treatment or supports and locked out of the education system. If children do not have assessments of need or early interventions, it is a significant challenge to them achieving their potential.”
“The Government has had four years to produce a review of the 2004 Act, and God knows how much it has cost. Ultimately, it tells us what we already know. The problem is that the review of this Act is now telling us to review another Act, the Disability Act 2005. It is an incredible situation. The Government talks about the need for a legal, rights-based, inclusive education system but we all know that when it comes to children with additional needs, this Government disregards those rights and actually breaks the law. It is quite incredible that the Government is a lawbreaking Government when it comes to the rights of children with special needs. It is remarkable that any government would be in that situation.”
“I am the chair of the Save Navan Hospital campaign and I can tell the Minister of State that a significant number of people who go to the accident and emergency unit in Our Lady's Hospital in Navan are people who cannot get a doctor. Pregnant women who cannot get a doctor have contacted me. People living in Meath for 20 years are still going to their doctor in Dublin because they cannot get a doctor in Meath. I know a person who rang 12 doctors' surgeries in one day trying to get an appointment but could not get into any of them. In the past few days, a doctor in Trim found that her book filled up in the space of half a day as soon as she opened. There is a radical disconnect between the delivery of services and the information the CSO gives us and that has to change.”
“What is the point of having the CSO provide figures and details regarding the population across the country if the Government keeps ignoring those figures when it comes to the delivery of key services? The CSO tells us how many older people we have, but we are not providing enough nursing home beds for them. The CSO tells us the number of younger people, but we are not providing enough school places for those children. We know that the CSO gives information about a cohort of people who are looking to buy houses, but the Government refuses to provide the necessary housing for them. There are certain counties, particularly in the mid-east, that have seen their population radically increase over time yet Government funding per capita of those counties has not kept pace. Meath has the lowest number of doctors per capita in the country.”
“Full accountability means that there is a cost to the individuals who are not protecting the public purse. If we do not have this cost, we are cursed to wake up to see these same stories repeat themselves.”
“It would be unfortunate if we were to insulate the expenditure from the Minister's Department from all of the other expenditure that came from this. A representative of Aontú in the area, Luke Silke, has done significant work on this matter. A large amount of money was spent. Taxpayers have had to fork out for this, even in the years subsequent to 2020. People were still paying for this in 2023. As soon as the Minister started his job, he came across the crisis in the Arts Council with the IT system that never functioned. Privately, he probably shares the same concerns as me around value for money and the waste that is happening in these spaces. My appeal to the Minister is for him to leave a legacy on this, so that there is full accountability for waste that happens.”
“Nevertheless, many people are not satisfied with the value-for-money aspect of the programme and that the Comptroller and Auditor General's questions are still outstanding. Does the Minister not have a concern about that?”
“I thank the Minister. The independent auditor and its outcomes are in direct contradiction to the Comptroller and Auditor General. The project had received more than €20 million in State funding by 2023. The Minister's Department provided approximately €15 million; Galway City Council provided €3.7 million; Galway County Council provided €2.6 million; and the EU provided €1.5 million. The outcome of that was a number of resignations. Several resignations happened and people took cases to the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC. There is no doubt that Galway is a fantastic city and that much of the money did good work to support local artists. Bad luck with weather and Covid-19 played a role in what happened to Galway 2020.”