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upper floors and long-stalled redevelopments leave this part looking neglected while retail has shifted elsewhere and been replaced by fast food shops that dilute its char…”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.”
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“If the truth be known, this Chamber was the opposite of dignity at work. It was embarrassing that we had that situation broadcast internationally. I have no doubt that Verona Murphy has made mistakes; she made mistakes last Tuesday. That is absolutely true. The people complaining that she made mistakes are the people who made the environment impossible for her to work in. I am aware of TDs saying the Ceann Comhairle was not listening to them. The Ceann Comhairle could not hear anything last week because of the volume of noise in this Chamber. It is a situation whereby people outside of the political bubble in this Dáil are furious. I have been talking to people in my constituency and, for most people, it is a curse on all our houses over this current situation. The Dáil is an absolute disgrace.”
“The Government has bullied through a new hybrid speaking system into this Dáil. The Government created a speaking system with another designation and it wants to control that designation as well. It already has a majority in this Dáil, but it wants the majority of the designations as well. Incredibly, in the new Standing Orders, the Chief Whip of the Government will be able to control who asks the Government's questions from this new group. That is an incredible situation. We in Aontú have demanded that the Government stop. We even asked the Government to participate in mediation but it has refused. The display in the Dáil last week was disgraceful. Grown adults were shouting at the top of their voices to drown out the democratic functions of this Dáil. I was present in the Chamber.”
“What engagement has the Government had with senior members of the US Administration in the context of protecting Irish industry?”
“The impending tariff war with the US is the biggest existential economic threat to this country in generations. Yet shockingly, it has been practically eclipsed by Dáil dysfunction over the past couple of weeks. Billions of euro worth of Irish trade and corporation tax are under threat. Both the future intake of tax and public spending are in the balance. I am struggling see any evidence of direct impact by this Government in terms of the EU's decision-making process or its negotiation with the US Administration. The EU will make decisions on the basis of the German, French and Italian economies. This is clearly visible in the decision on a retaliatory tariff on bourbon and is evidence that the EU was not thinking of the Irish whiskey industry. What direct steps is the Government taking to influence the EU's retaliatory tariff strategy?”
“The running cost for those beds could be €725 million, yet there is no reference at all to consultation with local communities, which has been a big problem of the Government's for the last number of years. The Minister for Justice admits that 90% of IPAS applications are coming from Britain through the North of Ireland, yet there is no reference to proper engagement with the British Government about how to control IPAS applicants moving across the Irish Sea. Why is there not and when will the Government do that?”
“While this Dáil drowned in dysfunction this week, the Government produced the EU migration implementation pact. While this Parliament was in paralysis this week, the Government sought to sneak through this highly controversial plan. As the Minister knows, this EU migration pact is opposed by a great number of the Irish people. The EU migration pact hands sovereignty on the issue of migration away from the Irish people. The EU migration pact outsources key decisions to the EU. The Government's plan stated yesterday that it could cost billions of euro to implement the plan. The staffing costs will be an extra €117 million. The set-up costs for 14,000 beds could be as high as €875 million.”
“Ba mhaith liom go mbeadh an tAire oscailte don chur chuige atá ag an Teachta Ó Snodaigh istigh anseo go mbeadh daoine ón Ghaeltacht tofa ar an mbord agus nach mbeidh an tAire ag ceapadh cúigear, seisear nó cibé uimhir atá ann as seo amach.”
“Bhí na heagraíochtaí a bhaineann leis an nGaeilge os comhair na Dála inniu ag léiriú cé chomh deacair is atá rudaí dóibh anois mar gheall ar an easpa maoinithe atá ag teacht ó Fhoras na Gaeilge. Níl aon dul chun cinn tagtha ar an gceist sin ar chor ar bith le 20 bliain, b’fhéidir. Tá sé sin dochreidte. I mo thuairim, tá slite eile gur cheart don Rialtas a úsáid chun maoiniú a thabhairt do na heagraíochtaí sin. Caithfidh an maoiniú teacht go luath mar tá go leor dóibh i gcruachás. Caithfidh an Rialtas a bheith sásta an t-airgead a thabhairt do na heagraíochtaí sin chun go mbeidh siad in ann feidhmiú amach anseo romhainn.”
“Taispeánann sé cé chomh deacair is atá todhchaí na Gaeltachta mar gheall ar phobal Gaeilge a labhraíonn í gach lá. Tá deiseanna ann do gach aon Ghaeltacht. Tá deiseanna agus dúshláin dhifriúla i gceist dóibh. Ba cheart go mbeadh ionadaí ag gach ceann de na Gaeltachtaí sin istigh san údarás as seo amach. Dúirt mé é sin leis an Aire cheana, agus sheol mé ríomhphost chuige ar an ábhar seo. Dúirt sé liom teacht ar ais chuige tar éis shaoire Lá Fhéile Pádraig agus sin atá mé á dhéanamh anois. Is Gaeltachtaí iad Ráth Chairn, An Rinn agus Baile Bhuirne atá in aice le bailte móra. Tá daoine sna bailte móra sin atá ag iarraidh a gcuid páistí a thógáil le Gaeilge agus tá talamh chun tithe a thógáil iontu le go mbeidh daoine in ann bogadh chucu agus a gcuid clann a thógáil go hiomlán i nGaeilge.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an mBille seo. Is deas an rud é an Bille a fheiceáil. Bhí m’ainm ar Bhille cosúil leis seo roimhe seo freisin. Is iontach an rud é go mbeidh guth na Gaeltachta le cloisteáil arís istigh go daonlathach san údarás. Tá sé sin an-tábhachtach ar fad. Tá níos mó eolais ag muintir na Gaeltachta ná aon duine eile mar gheall ar na dúshláin atá os a gcomhair agus na deiseanna atá ann dóibh freisin. Tá sé dochreidte gur baineadh an guth sin uathu mar gheall ar an easpa daonlathais atá sa chóras anois. Caithfidh muid a bheith ionraic freisin. Tá deacrachtaí ollmhóra ag na Gaeltachtaí. Dúirt mé cheana nach bhfuil ach 500 páiste sa Ghaeltacht idir a trí is ceithre bliana d’aois a labhraíonn an Ghaeilge lá i ndiaidh lae. Is líon an-bheag é sin.”
“The fact that there is not a standard is a major problem. It is beyond time that we started to reform this payment and recognise that everybody should be treated equally in this country.”
“However, he currently lives in emergency accommodation with ten other men. He cannot bring his children into his household at the moment. He is on the housing waiting list but it could be ten years before he gets a house, because he is a single man. He does not receive the payment. Many people who are currently in very difficult housing situations - in crisis - rightly feel there is a two-tier situation in terms of income and funds from the State for housing accommodation. People who perhaps live on the same street are treated differently. One family could have an income of €100,000 and another family an income of €30,000, yet because of the way the system is built, the family receiving €100,000 gets this fund and the family on the lower income does not. We must have a standard so that everybody is treated equally.”
“It is wrong that we have tenants living on the same street who are being treated differently. We should be able to recognise that. It is wrong that people in certain communities receive a financial advantage over others who are in the same accommodation scenarios as they are. I am aware of a mother, for example, who has three children with autism. They live on the third floor of a block of flats in a town. She is in big trouble - a crisis situation - trying to raise her kids in that scenario. She is on the housing waiting list as she does not have the funds to get a house on the housing market. She does not receive this payment. I am also aware of a father, who has recently split up from his wife. He recently got permission for his children to go to his accommodation two nights a week.”
“These decisions in Europe will be made on the basis of Germany, France and Italy, of the big economies defending the big industries that they preside over. The worry is that we are a small country between two elephants and the grass is going to get trampled and we are going to suffer in relation to that. In terms of the US, obviously I welcome the visit to the US but the Irish Government has been too slow in terms of building relationships with the US Administration and the Republican Party in terms of trying to influence them with regard to the tariffs that are coming our direction. We have a significant vote and significant leverage in terms of Irish America to put pressure on them to protect our interests there.”
“Right now, pharmaceutical companies are working out how they can transfer manufacturing and their taxation system outside of Ireland. My major worry is that this Government has little influence over the EU's decision-making situation. A couple of weeks ago we had a situation where, in response to the US, the EU came up with a retaliatory tariff against the US which included bourbon. It literally put Irish drinks in the target by making that decision. I would like the Minister to address this if he could. What, if any, influence do we have over Ursula von der Leyen in regard to the decisions made over what products are part of the retaliatory tariff policy of the EU? I have seen no evidence that we have any influence in relation to that.”
“Ireland is considered a tax haven internationally. Ireland is considered to be in the top ten tax havens internationally at the moment. That has happened because the Government has depended too much on corporation taxes and breaks in corporation taxes to attract foreign direct investment. We should be spending more time investing in infrastructure, including transport, ICT and educational infrastructure. We should be spending more time trying to keep the inputs and costs to business low. These are the ingredients that most foreign direct investors want in terms of making their businesses successful. They would make their experience here stickier and less mobile, less likely to flee the country if the situation changes. Right now, pharmaceutical companies are actually working out what they should do if there is a tariff change.”
“We are spending 0.25% of our GDP on defence, which is one of the lowest in Europe. The Government is currently the biggest threat to the Irish defence system. The Government is the problem. I believe in Irish neutrality and the best way to ensure it is to properly invest in our own Defence Forces and make sure they are fit for purpose.”
“The Government talks about the need for stronger defence systems in this country. It spent €5 million on the National Cyber Security Centre following the attack on the HSE. In the same year, the Department of the Taoiseach spent €15 million on press statements. Three times the money was spent on press statements by one Department than all the money on the National Cyber Security Centre. The attack on the HSE has already cost €100 million and is likely to cost another €650 million. That is not to mind the thousands of people who had their health damaged or their care delayed as a result of the attack. The Government has seen the complete collapse of the Defence Forces. We have hardly enough staff to float a ship on the high seas at the moment. Currently, the Army is at one of its lowest levels.”
“The Government's intention is that Irish men and women will get involved in military actions on the basis of being against a significant military bloc in this country. I laugh at the Government because it talks about the need-----”
“By "efficient", what they mean is less influence from the nation state in making those decisions. Simon Harris has long stated that he wants to get rid of the triple lock. The Government says it wants to get rid of the triple lock because it affects Irish sovereignty. That is horse manure. Neutrality is an expression of Irish sovereignty. The Government states the UN Security Council determines whether we get involved in UN peacekeeping treaties, but when there is opposition on the UN Security Council and we still get involved in the military action despite that opposition, we are, by default, aligning with a military bloc. That is the reason we decided not to get involved in those cases. That is the basis of it.”
“The second point in regard to what is happening at the moment is that the EU has stated that countries using this budget must purchase their military hardware from the EU in the main or from countries that have signed up to a defence union or defence agreements with the European Union, thereby again transferring the competency of a military bloc to the European Union from nation states. That is an absolute disgrace. There is no doubt that for a long period Fine Gael has been fully behind Ireland becoming involved in military blocs. In the past, when it was in opposition, Fianna Fáil stated the opposite but it now adheres to that. Two years ago, Micheál Martin stated he would support changes to EU treaties to allow the EU to make more efficient decisions on military issues.”
“In other words, we cannot influence what wars they get involved in, but we have to send our young men and women to the war zones they get involved in. There is a significant project within the European Union to change its nature to an EU defence union. There is no doubt about that. The steps the EU has taken so far, which include creating funds and loans for military hardware, are blurring the lines between the EU and a military bloc. It is, by definition, in a practical sense, transitioning military decisions towards the EU from the nation states. That is a big problem. Before she ran for the Presidency of the EU Commission, Ursula von der Leyen made it one of her key election platforms that she would seek to build an EU military defence union.”
“Irish neutrality has been one of the most important policies of this country for the past 100 years. There will be a protest outside the Dáil on 9 April at 6 p.m. I welcome everybody, from all political persuasions, who favour and support Irish neutrality, to join the protest. Arrogance is a key aspect of this Government. The Government is using the infrastructure of the Oireachtas to push through, force through and beat through its objectives on various issues. Yesterday was an example of that. Today's debate about the triple lock is another example of it. Irish neutrality has been a key policy for many years, because we have understood that being aligned to a military bloc is a dangerous thing for a small country. Small countries cannot influence the decisions of large military blocs, but we must adhere to their decisions.”
“It is an absolute scandal that in some cases, the majority of posts that need to be staffed in these services are vacant, and that must change.”
“It is incredible that at present, there are 817 vacancies in CDNTs across the country. In CHO 1 - Donegal, Cavan, Monaghan, Leitrim and Sligo - there has been a fall of 22% in therapy hours in the space of a year. The HSE is one of the biggest employers of CDNT staff. Some 44% of those positions are currently vacant and 43% of all psychologist posts are also currently vacant. That is an incredible figure. The equivalent figures in CHO 1 and CHO 5 are 62% and 59%. If the Government is not going to employ psychologists, psychiatrists and staff in local areas for children with disabilities who need supports, they will not get those supports. If they do not get supports, they will not get the help they need to reach their potential. In many cases, you will have situations where life will become incredibly difficult for them and their carers.”
“This means that of the 58,000 appeals against Department decisions on disability allowance in the past ten years, 40,000 were subsequently granted. The State told 40,000 people they were not entitled to the disability allowance and then turned around and said they actually were entitled to it. What does that mean for the large number of people who appealed, were refused and then left it at that? I refer to those who did not go back and appeal it in the end. I believe there should be a full audit of all these cases to see if people were entitled to that disability allowance. If they were, they need to be paid back to the date they applied in the first place. Another issue affecting people - I got this information in the past 24 hours - is the level of vacancies in CDNTs across the country.”
“In recent weeks, I have been made aware of a huge issue facing children with disabilities who are being treated at primary care centres around the country. It would appear it is now the norm for supports for children being referred from primary care to their local CDNT to drop off a cliff as soon as that referral occurs. It does not happen when they actually get the service from the CDNT but when the referral starts. This leaves children in limbo without the services they need, and many of them unfortunately regress as a result. Another scandal we in Aontú uncovered was the issue of disability allowance. Data we received showed that 68% of people who appealed Department of Social Protection decisions to refuse the disability allowance were successful in their appeals.”
“Gabhaim buíochas le Páirtí an Lucht Oibre as ucht an rúin seo. Is rún maith é agus is mian liom tacaíocht a thabhairt dó. I want to raise a couple of serious issues that are affecting both carers and people with disabilities. The children's disability service grant was announced with great fanfare by the then Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte, in October 2023. This grant was to urgently provide services and therapies for children and was to be allocated within weeks. We were told that 52 organisations around the country would benefit from this fund. The Tánaiste confirmed today that applications worth €8 million were signed off by the HSE, but the money went nowhere. That is an absolute scandal. It is absolutely incredible that any government could be so harsh and hurtful in terms of badly needed funds.”
“At the time, the Government made it so difficult to apply that one practically had to be homeless and have a derelict home to get it. Last year, we found out that there were 11,000 applications for that particular grant. Only 1,449 have actually resulted in a payout of that grant. Some 13% of the applicants of that grant have received it in the full of last year, which is an incredibly low figure. If the Government proceeds at this pace, it will take it 160 years to achieve getting those homes back into use.”
“It is low-hanging fruit in terms of getting people back into their homes. It usually involves the lowest amount of money to make a building habitable. It is also best for the environment because it has less of an environmental impact, as there is less concrete, blocks, transport and so on used. Many towns and villages in this country are festooned with derelict buildings. If one travels through most provincial towns, even on the main street, one will see that approximately 20% to 25% of those buildings are derelict. Getting those homes back into use enlivens and gets families back into the towns and creates an energy there that is so badly needed. In September 2022, the Government created a grant for homes that were empty, namely, the vacant homes grant.”
“That we are having statements on housing is another example of the fact that we are not functioning properly as a Legislature. The very fact we are having statements instead of pushing through legislation is basically a Dáil trying to look busy instead of doing the work it is meant to do. It is a disgrace that, week after week, we have statements on this, that and the other. It is showing the Government up for its inability to let this Parliament function. I wish to raise the issue of the number of houses that are derelict around the country. There are 160,000 derelict houses. That is an incredible number of homes that are empty in the middle of a housing crisis. Having empty homes in the middle of a housing crisis is akin to exporting food in the middle of a famine. It is a disgrace.”
“What is the Government's ability to influence the direction? I welcome the fact that the Taoiseach was in Washington DC last week to try to make a case for Ireland in that scenario, but it has to be looked at. There is a situation where the European Union, in a retaliatory tariff, focused on the issue of Bourbon. By focusing on Bourbon, the EU put Irish whiskey in the sights of the US. A potential 200% tariff increase would make a significant difference. What influence do we have in terms of the EU's decisions regarding the trade war? How can we make sure that it protects Irish interests?”
“Ireland is one of the most exposed countries in the world to the US trade tariff war. Ireland exports relatively more to the US than most other European countries. Last year, we exported €72 billion worth of goods, €58 billion of which comes under the heading of pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Obviously, the Taoiseach sat in the same room as President Trump, and pharmaceuticals are a target of the US Administration. Under those threatened tariff increases, there would be a situation where these products would become more expensive to people in the US. If that happens, some of those firms will relocate the production of those materials to the US. That will lead to a fall in GDP, in corporation tax and in jobs. It would actually put our own budgetary situation in a very difficult position. We are enormously exposed in this regard.”
“It is 110 days since the general election. This Dáil has sat for 17 days, which is incredible. For 85% of the time since the general election, this Dáil has been off. This is a legislature that cannot legislate. This is a democratically elected parliament that cannot deliver legislation because there are no committees due to the dysfunction here. I wish to propose an amendment under Standing Order 33(3) to the Order of Business to the effect that the Dáil should an extra day this week and an extra day next week in order that we can set about doing the work that is necessary.”
“If those recommendations had been implemented, we could have mitigated against the worst damage of the Dublin riots and their massive costs, not just in the financial cost to the taxpayer but the massive cost to our international reputation and the damage done. We do not have a specific public order unit.”
“The Taoiseach has a more positive disposition than anybody living in those towns without a Garda station, in reality. The Garda Inspectorate report on public order policing that he mentioned was published seven years ago. I have asked numerous Ministers for Justice if the recommendations of that report have been implemented. Three months after I asked the former Minister for Justice, Deputy Helen McEntee if they had been implemented, I got an answer to a parliamentary question, which stated that she did not know the answer to that and would give the answer when she could. I asked the same question of the new Minister for Justice, who came back to me in the past month. He said, seven years after they were published, that the Department is considering the recommendations. It is an incredible situation.”
“Theft offences, kidnappings, firearms, explosives offences, public order offences, violent crime, attempted murders, assaults, shootings, drug importations and arson attacks are all increasing at the moment. This is the Taoiseach's Ireland at the moment. Will the Government invest in real terms in Garda pay and conditions? Will it reopen the many Garda stations that have been closed? A total of 56 Garda stations do not even have an assigned garda. One would think that having a garda would be a key component to a Garda station, yet we do not have this. Will the Taoiseach reopen those Garda stations and make sure that they are properly staffed?”
“In my own county, Ballivor, Longwood, Summerhill, Athboy and Oldcastle all have Garda stations that are hardly open at the moment. These are typical of many other towns throughout the country that have been abandoned by the Government to crime. These towns had functional Garda stations 100 years ago, when this State did not have a shilling to rub together and when crime was about a quarter of what it is now. Now, more gardaí are resigning, retiring and being attacked on a daily basis than ever before. Drew Harris has lost the dressing room. There is a universal lack of confidence in Drew Harris among gardaí, and this is leading to a substantial increase in crime. Burglaries are increasing at a serious rate. Violent burglaries are increasing. A person's property is being broken into every 50 minutes in this country.”
“Believe it or not, per capita , we have a lower number of gardaí now than we had 20 years ago in 2005, which is an incredible situation. Under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, Ireland now has its lowest number of gardaí in 20 years per capita . That is on the basis that Ireland also has the lowest number of gardaí per capita in the whole of the European Union. It is an incredible situation where police forces across Europe have far more police per capita than Ireland. Rural Garda stations have been closed and that has done an enormous level of damage across the country. The refusal by the Government to staff those Garda stations is actually leaving those communities exposed to crime. It is a competitive advantage to criminals that the Taoiseach's party and Fine Gael have closed Garda stations around the country.”
“Most Garda divisions now have fewer front-line officers than this time last year. That is a shocking headline currently throughout the country. In the 560 Garda stations that exist, the number has fallen from 12,045 gardaí to 11,928 gardaí. In County Waterford, the number of gardaí has fallen by 24. In counties Louth, Cavan and Monaghan, the number of gardaí has fallen by 48. In counties Roscommon and Longford, the number of gardaí has fallen by 22. In Meath, my own county and the county with the lowest number of gardaí per capita in the State, the number of gardaí in our division has fallen again. In actual, real terms, the Garda numbers have fallen below 2020 figures. They have actually fallen in real terms below 2009 figures.”
“It is incredible, when a straight question is asked regarding the engagement the Minister, the Minister for Justice, the Tánaiste or the Taoiseach have had with senior elements of the US Administration, in what is possibly one of the biggest existential economic threats to Ireland at the moment, that in the three or four minutes the Minister had to answer that, the summation of his response was "zero". At this moment in time, the Minister cannot tell me of any senior engagement between his Government and the senior US Administration, despite the fact that pharmaceuticals are a target of these potential tariffs, on which we are so heavily dependent, and despite the fact that our corporation tax as a country is more dependent on those sectors than any other country.”
“This morning, the Minister for Finance was on "Morning Ireland", on which he was asked what the Government's strategy is to deal with trying to persuade the US not to proceed with tariffs against Ireland and his answer, basically, was that we have to show that there is a reciprocal relationship of benefit between the two counties.”
“The actual word "austerity" could be discussed in this Chamber again if the US proceeds with this particular tariff war. One of the things that amazes me so much is that so little is being done regarding this potential economic existential threat by this Government. In fact, this bubble has spent more time fighting a speaking rights row with regard to Government-supporting TDs' speaking time than it has actually developing a system to help in this regard. I asked the Minister for Finance a couple of weeks ago what he had done and who he had engaged with in terms of senior US Administration to mitigate the potential damage as a result of the tariff war and the Minister said he has no responsibility to the Chamber with regard to answering such a question. I could not believe it.”
“Last year, we exported €72 billion worth of goods, €58 billion of which were pharmaceuticals and chemicals. Under the threatened tariffs, these products could become much more expensive and demand could fall. Many of the businesses will not accept that fall in demand and could shift their production elsewhere. Then there is the whole issue of corporation tax. A significant change to US corporation tax could actually gut the taxation system in this country. It would create a huge hole in our budget. It could lead to a situation where we have to cut public services, infrastructural spend and maybe even increase taxes in this State. Ireland is looking at, potentially, a fall in jobs, an increase in taxes and a fall in GDP. Ireland has not seen a potential economic shock such as this for at least two decades.”
“Ireland is facing a significant economic storm. The threatened tariff war with the United States could do immense damage to the current Irish economic model. Proposed changes to the US corporation tax could be catastrophic in terms of the Irish economy. Successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have put all our economic eggs in bargain basement corporation taxes. For sure, FDI is good and needs to be nurtured and promoted, but FDI is more mobile than indigenous businesses and it could move with ease depending on the prevailing international economic winds. Ireland is currently facing into headwinds blowing against us from the United States. Tariffs will decimate the Irish economy. Irish exports to the United States, relative to other European counties, are far more.”
“There are a number of things I would like the Minister to address and I understand she will not be able to do them all in this question but I want the Government to tackle what happened in 2020 and the effect it had on cancer sufferers. Also, why are we not as good as the likes of Sweden and England in terms of survival rates for breast cancer? Why is it the case that if you are on a low income and use the private sector, you are 12% less likely to survive over five years?”
“The Minister is right that Covid killed many people, for sure. Cancer also killed many people, for sure. We have not had a Covid inquiry yet so we do not know the effectiveness or net benefit in terms of saving people's lives of shutting down hospital services and stopping cancer patients getting treatment. The Minister mentioned survival rates. The National Cancer Registry shows Ireland has a breast cancer survival rate of 82%. Sweden has a 7% higher rate and Britain a 5% higher rate. It is not just about geography; it is also whether you use the public or private system. If you go by the private system for breast cancer, you have a 12% better chance of surviving for five years.”
“I delayed going to the doctor at the time because I listened to the Government's narrative that, unless you were seriously ill, you should not go to the health service. Thank God I was one of the lucky ones to survive it. I am trying to find out how many people died as a result of the delayed diagnoses that happened as a result of the shutting down of the health services in large part in 2020?”
“I look forward to the Minister sending the figures to me. In those figures we know there was a fall of 4,000 in the number of cancer diagnoses in 2020. These are the figures that were given to us by the previous Minister for Health. That fall in cancer diagnoses happened because the Government shut down significant elements of the health service. It stopped the cancer screening processes during that time. This led to a number of people not having their cancers diagnosed in time, and those cancers developed into much more dangerous cancers. What is the Government doing to try to catch up and make sure those individuals get the necessary treatment? I myself had cancer of the skin at that time.”
“The former Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, previously furnished me with data that showed the number of people diagnosed with cancer was increasing every year until 2020 when the pandemic hit. Then it went significantly down. This suggests that people's cancers went undiagnosed when significant elements of the health services were closed down in 2020. To what extent did this happen?”