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upper floors and long-stalled redevelopments leave this part looking neglected while retail has shifted elsewhere and been replaced by fast food shops that dilute its char…”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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“Tá gliondar ar mo chroí freisin go bhfuil Gaeilge líofa labhartha istigh anseo ag go leor acu. Deir an seanfhocal, áfach, go gcaithfear beart de réir ár mbriathar a dhéanamh. Tá go leor briathar istigh anseo ach tá easpa gníomhartha maidir leis an nGaeilge. Ba cheart dúinn beart de réir ár mbriathar a dhéanamh ar an ábhar sin. Bhí an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach, an Teachta Connolly, mar bhall den chomhchoiste Gaeilge sa Dáil deireanach, ach ní raibh go leor daoine ag freastal ar an gcomhchoiste sin ag an am. As seo amach, caithfidh muid a bheith cinnte go mbeidh an Ghaeilge i lár thosaíochtaí an Rialtais.”
“We need to show future parents that there will be a future for the language for them, that it is worth their while raising their children in Irish, that it is worth their while sending their kids to Gaelscoileanna, that there will be Gaelscoileanna there for them, that we are going to raise the standard of teachers in relation to the Irish language going forward, that we will invest in and fund Foras na Gaeilge, Údarás na Gaeltachta, Raidió na Gaeltachta and TG4 to a level where they are able to produce really good content in future and that we will actually ensure the hundreds of jobs in the State system where Irish is needed will be provided so services can be achieved in the Irish language. Tá go leor Teachtaí Dála nua istigh anseo agus is rud iontach é sin.”
“Some language experts are saying there are only ten or 15 years left for the Irish language as a community language. If that is true, it will be our generation who will see the death of the Irish language as a community language. Whether a language that has flourished for 2,000 years exists as a community language in future could rest on our shoulders. Despite all the wonderful language and the contributions that have been made in this debate, we have to get to a situation where we get real about the Irish language.”
“She asked him how he could learn the Irish language to fluency within six months when most of the children who go through the school system spend 13 years learning the language but never really achieve that level of fluency. He answered with one word, which was “motivation”. He said he had the motivation to learn the language and that is what took him to reaching fluency. Motivation is a key problem, if we are honest with each other. Many of us have a love for the Irish language and value the Irish language, but as a State or a society do we have a motivation to ensure the Irish language grows as a language in the Gaeltacht and as a language outside the Gaeltacht? I do not think we do. The number of people in the Gaeltacht who use the language daily is falling.”
“He has lived his whole life in America and even fought in the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. His father was from Donegal and his mother from Korea. His father died, unfortunately, and because of that he took a trip to Donegal to learn more about him. There he heard the Irish language spoken for the first time and fell in love with it. He went home to the United States and decided to learn the Irish language. He learned it to fluency within six months and learned it in a beautiful Donegal accent. The only tools he had were the Internet, books and tapes. He did not even have anybody to practice the Irish language with, so it was an incredible feat, in fairness to him. He came back to Ireland to practice his Irish and was on a number of radio shows. I remember him being interviewed by Marian Finucane, God rest her.”
“Níl páistí in ann teacht ar Ghaelscoil nó Gaelcholáiste go minic. Caithfidh mé a rá go raibh díomá ollmhór orm nuair a chuala mé an scéal faoi Scoil Synge i lár Bhaile Átha Cliath. Bhí múinteoir ar an nuacht agus í faoi agallamh. Cuireadh ceist uirthi cén fáth nár ghlac siad leis an bplean a bhí ag an Roinn Oideachais Gaelscoil iomlán a dhéanamh den scoil agus dar léi, shéan siad an Ghaeilge ar son éagsúlacht teangacha an cheantair. Tá an Ghaeilge iontach tábhachtach i gcomhthéacs éagsúlacht teangacha thar timpeall na cruinne. Tá sé dochreidte go bhfuil muid ag úsáid an leithscéil sin chun stop a chur leis an bplean a bhí ag an Roinn Oideachais. Déarfaidh mé an méid atá ráite agam as Béarla chomh maith, más féidir liom. Séamus Ó Fianghusa is an American citizen who was born and raised in America.”
“Tá fadhbanna maoinithe ollmhóir ag Foras na Gaeilge agus tá an fhadhb sin ag dul ar aghaidh bliain i ndiaidh bliana. Dá bharr sin, níl go leor de na heagraíochtaí atá ag brath ar mhaoiniú ó Fhoras na Gaeilge in ann teacht ar an airgead sin agus níl siad in ann fás. Maidir le scoileanna thar timpeall na tíre, tá sé dochreidte go bhfuil 25% de na tuismitheoirí sa tír seo ag iarraidh agus ag éileamh Gaelscolaíochta le haghaidh a gcuid páistí agus nach bhfuil ach 6% de na páistí ag fáil Gaelscolaíochta. Cé go bhfuil mé tinn tuirseach á rá sin, go minic bíonn muid ag éisteacht leis na meáin cumarsáide ag caint faoi Ghaeilge éigeantach istigh sa chóras oideachais ach i ndáiríre, tá Béarla éigeantach sa chóras oideachais. Tá muid ag brú an Bhéarla síos scornaí na bpáistí timpeall na tíre.”
“Bhí spreagadh aige chun an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim mar bhí grá mór aige le haghaidh a athar agus bhí sé ag iarraidh ómós a dhéanamh dá athair agus an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim. I mo thuairim, tá sé sin ar cheann de na fadhbanna atá againn mar Stát anois mar níl spreagadh ag an Stát i ndáiríre chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn. Caithfidh mé aontú le cúpla duine de na hurlabhraí a bhí os mo chomhair cúpla nóiméad ó shín. De ghnáth, bíonn óráidí deasa anseo le haghaidh Sheachtain na Gaeilge, ach i gceann cúpla seachtain, de ghnáth, déanann go leor daoine dearmad iomlán ar an nGaeilge go dtí go dtagann an bhliain dár gcionn. Cosúil leis an nath cainte "a dog is not just for Christmas", the Irish language is not just for Seachtain na Gaeilge. Caithfidh muid a admháil nach mbíonn béim againn ar infheistíocht sa Ghaeilge.”
“Bhí sé dochreidte gur fhoghlaim sé, tar éis sé mhí, an Ghaeilge go huile is go hiomlán agus gur bhain sé líofacht amach sa Ghaeilge. Ní raibh aige ach an tIdirlíon, leabhair agus téipeanna taifeadta. Ní raibh fiú duine ar bith aige lena raibh sé in ann Gaeilge a labhairt, ach bhain sé líofacht amach. Tháinig sé ar ais chun na tíre seo le Gaeilge bhinn Thír Chonaill aige. Bhí go leor agallamh leis ar an raidió. Is cuimhin liom go raibh Marian Finucane ag cur ceist air conas arbh fhéidir leis líofacht sa Ghaeilge a bhaint amach i gceann sé mhí nuair nach mbaineann go leor páistí líofacht amach i ndiaidh 13 bliain a chaitheamh ar scoil. Is í an fhreagra a thug sé ná go raibh spreagadh aige.”
“Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCathaoirleach Gníomhach. Tá spreagadh an-tábhachtach don Ghaeilge. Is é an rud is tábhachtaí mar gheall ar chur chun cinn na Gaeilge sa todhchaí. Ba mhaith liom labhairt mar gheall ar fhear darb ainm Séamus Ó Fianghusa. Is as na Stáit Aontaithe é agus chaith sé a shaol iomlán ann. Throid sé ar son arm na Stát Aontaithe san Iaráic agus san Afganastáin. Ba as Dún na nGall a athair agus ba as an gCóiré a mháthair. Fuair a athair bás blianta ó shín agus dá bharr sin, thug Séamus cuairt ar an tír seo, go dtí Dún na nGall. Thit sé i ngrá leis an nGaeilge nuair a thug sé cuairt ar Dhún na nGall agus nuair a chuaigh sé ar ais abhaile go dtí na Stáit Aontaithe, chinn sé an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim.”
“When will the billions of euro of waste under this Government come to an end, what steps will the Taoiseach take to safeguarding such systems in the future and how will he recoup that €100 million for the taxpayer?”
“I want to raise another example of Government waste. The Minister for Social Protection told Aontú yesterday that there were €100 million in overpayments on the PUP payments in the Covid period. A total of 42,400 PUP overpayments were made during that period of time. Some 1,400 PUP payments were made due to fraud during that time. Due to the cyberattack, we had a specific type of fraud that happened where the identity of HSE and Tusla's employees were stolen, accounts were set up and hundreds of thousands of euro were drawn down in fraud in that regard as well. The PUP payment was obviously an income safety net for people during Covid but it seems tens of thousands of people were allowed to abuse the system with the result that there were €100 million of overpayments.”
“I will tell the Minister what accountability is, if he will just listen and stop looking at his mobile phone for two seconds. Accountability happens in the real world. There are hundreds of thousands of people who work in the tens of thousands of small businesses around the country. If they do not do their jobs properly and reach a standard or if they continue to waste money or have a situation where they burn through their business’s money, there will be a cost to them. That cost might be a disciplinary procedure, moving sideways or a lack of promotion or it could be losing their job. However, nobody ever loses their job at the top ends of the Civil Service no matter how much money they lose and nothing will change until that changes.”
“A large portion of the taxes the Government takes from the men and women who get up early in the morning and burst themselves, who commute two and three hours a day and work hard to get home to their families and spend half an hour with their kids before they go to bed are being incinerated by the Government in terms of waste. The other aspect of Government incompetency and uselessness is how so many infrastructural projects are grinding to a halt. The National Children’s Hospital was meant to be open in 2020 at a cost of €700 million, save an asteroid hitting the planet. So said Leo Varadkar. This Government has proved to be more damaging than even an asteroid hitting the planet because here we are in 2025 without even a date for the opening of that children’s hospital and the cost is heading towards €2.5 billion.”
“The democratic legislation system is grinding to a halt. The first responsibility of this Government, to legislate for the country, is not happening at the moment because 100 days after the election we cannot even get it together. I could easily spend the next ten minutes rhyming off all the examples of Government waste from the Gucci bicycle shed to the National Children’s Hospital and the Government spending €2.5 billion on compensation for mistakes that happened in hospitals over the last ten years. There is a never-ending supply of this. Unfortunately, there is not even enough embarrassment on Government faces over these issues to make a change. It is having a significant effect on Irish society in several ways. First, the Government is incinerating billions of euro of taxpayers' money.”
“It thinks accountability is that the Minister comes in here and speaks in measured tones and shock about the latest example of millions of euro lost in an investment or it may even have a committee meeting to look into it and then it moves on to the next situation. That is not accountability. If we continue on this route we will continue to wake up morning after morning to the latest iteration of Government waste and millions or billions of euro. To show the incompetency of this Government, we are 100 days after the election. Where are the committees? No committees have yet been formed in this Legislature. All week we are having statements on housing, health and justice. We are putting in the time because the Legislature cannot even legislate. We cannot bring legislation through the Dáil given the incompetency of the Government.”
“Waste and the lack of Government accountability is one of the most important issues facing the Dáil over the last five to ten years. There is no doubt. Aontú has made it our goal to cut Government waste and to create efficiency in the delivery of public services and public infrastructure. We will not stop until we achieve that. This is one of the most useless and inefficient Governments in the history of the State in terms of minding the public purse. It is a Government that is allergic to accountability. The Minister for Finance talks about accountability. The Government does not know what accountability means.”
“I move amendment No. 1 to amendment No. 1: To delete all words after "notes that:" and substitute the following: "— there needs to be a disciplinary process for senior civil servants for instances of repeated waste of public funds; — accountability needs to be written into the contracts of senior civil servants; and — there should be a Minister of State for Accountability, nominated and located within the Department of the Taoiseach, to track live procurement and infrastructural projects to ensure they do not go over budget and are delivered on time, to report to the Taoiseach on a weekly basis in terms of accountability.". I thank Independent Ireland for bringing forward this motion. Waste in government has been a major issue for Aontú in recent years.”
“Tá 20 soicind eile de dhíth orm. Tá fadhb ann mar gheall ar na scoileanna. Tá 25% de na tuismitheoirí sa tír seo ag éileamh Gaelscolaíochta. Níl ach 6% ag fáil Gaeloideachais sa tír seo. Bíonn daoine ag caint faoi Ghaeilge éigeantach, ach leis an fhírinne a rá, tá an Béarla éigeantach ar go leor daoine. Táthar ag brú an Bhéarla síos scornaí na bpáistí sa tír seo. Ba cheart go mbeadh an Rialtas ag treisiú agus ag fás na Gaeilge, ach, i ndáiríre, tá an Rialtas mar bhac ar fhás na Gaeilge sa tír seo.”
“Ba cheart go mbeadh an Rialtas i bhfad níos uaillmhianaí agus ag cur airgid isteach go dtí Údarás na Gaeltachta le go mbeidh sé in ann poist fhíor-Ghaelacha a chruthú istigh ansin ag an bhomaite seo.”
“Dá mbeadh an Rialtas ambitious mar gheall ar an rud sin, d’fhéadfadh an tAire dul go dtí Údarás na Gaeltachta agus a rá leis talamh áirithe a cheannach, 20 teach a thógáil air agus iad a dhíol le daoine atá ag iarraidh a gcuid páistí a thógáil le Gaeilge le fáil amach an oibreodh sé. Bheadh sé láidir mar chabhair don Ghaeilge sa todhchaí. Caithfidh mé a rá freisin gurb é ceann de na fadhbanna sa Ghaeltacht ná nach mbíonn poist le fáil trí Ghaeilge sna Gaeltachtaí fós. Leis an fhírinne a rá, is é Údarás na Gaeltachta an col ceathrar bocht idir na heagraíochtaí forbartha, eacnamaíochta agus post sa tír seo. Nuair a bhí Fiontar Éireann agus an IDA ag fáil go leor airgid agus níos mó airgid bliain i ndiaidh bliana, bhí síleáil ar an méid airgid a bhí Údarás na Gaeltachta ag fáil sa tír seo. Tá sé sin dochreidte.”
“Ar dtús, threiseodh sé an Ghaeltacht mar bheadh thart ar 20 nó 30 clann nua ag dul isteach go Ráth Chairn agus ag tógáil a gcuid páistí le Gaeilge agus ag cur leis an scoil, an siopa agus an comharchumann agus gach rud eile a bhíonn ag titim amach sa cheantar sin. Freisin, chabhródh sé leis an ghéarchéim thithíochta mar bheadh spásanna sa bhreis sna ceantair eile. Ní Ráth Chairn amháin atá i gceist agam leis an smaoineamh seo; is féidir leis an Roinn a bheith i mbun an phlean seo le Baile Bhuirne, atá in aice le bailte móra Béarla, agus fiú leis An Spidéal atá in aice le cathair na Gaillimhe.”
“Is fíorGhaeltacht iontach í Ráth Chairn, atá in aice liom, ina bhfuil pobal láidir bríomhar ag labhairt na Gaeilge lá i ndiaidh lae. Caithfidh mé a admháil gur iarcheannaire dá pháirtí féin, Éamon de Valera, a chruthaigh Ráth Chairn nuair nach raibh pingin rua i bpóca an Stáit. Bhog sé go leor daoine as na ceantair Ghaeltachta eile go dtí Ráth Chairn agus Baile Ghib. Tá go leor talamh saor istigh ann. Tá go leor daoine ag iarraidh a gcuid páistí a thógáil le Gaeilge in áiteanna cosúil leis An Uaimh, Droichead Átha agus Baile Átha Cliath. Tá talamh le díol anois istigh i Ráth Chairn. Is féidir leis an Rialtas, nó le hÚdarás na Gaeltachta, é a cheannach agus tithe a thógáil ar an talamh sin agus na tithe sin a dhíol do chlanna atá ag iarraidh a gcuid páistí a thógáil le Gaeilge. Chabhródh sé sin leis an Stát in dhá slí.”
“Bhí mé ag caint le saineolaí le déanaí a bhí ag rá nach bhfuil ach 500 páiste idir trí is ceithre bliana d’aois sna Gaeltachtaí uilig ag caint Gaeilge go laethúil. Samhlaigh sin. Sin 500 páiste go hiomlán idir trí agus ceithre bliana d’aois sna Gaeltachtaí uilig ag labhairt na Gaeilge go laethúil. Is tréad fíorbheag é sin. Caithfidh muid a admháil, muna ndéanann muid rud éigin radacach as seo amach, go mb’fhéidir gur muid an ghlúin dheireanach a bheidh an Ghaeilge againn mar theanga phobail. Tá 2,000 bliain staire ag an Ghaeilge sa tír seo. Tá todhchaí na teanga ar ár gcuid guaillí anois maidir leis an Ghaeilge a bheith ina teanga phobail as seo amach. Ba mhaith liom go n-éistfeadh an tAire leis an méid seo. Muna éisteann sé le haon rud eile seachas an píosa seo, is cuma liom.”
“Gan an Ghaeltacht, ní bheadh ann ach líonraí Gaeilge thar timpeall na tíre gan an saibhreas sin ar chor ar bith. Caithfidh muid a rá agus a admháil ag an bhomaite seo go bhfuil an Ghaeltacht i ndrochstaid. Cé go bhfuil go leor daoine ag déanamh obair mhaith – ba mhaith liom go mbeadh na daoine sin ag dul ar aghaidh mar gheall ar an obair sin - fós, daonáireamh i ndiaidh daonáirimh, tá an méid daoine a bhíonn ag labhairt na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht ag titim. Sa daonáireamh is deireanaí, thit líon na gcainteoirí laethúla Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht ó 69% go 66%. Is fadhb mhór í sin. Caithfidh muid a admháil anois go bhfuil togra mór os ár gcomhair chun an Ghaeilge a chaomhnú agus a fhás sa todhchaí.”
“Bheadh éagsúlacht an domhain i bhfad níos laige gan í. Tá an-chuid dualgas orainn í a threisiú agus a thógáil mar Stát agus Rialtas. Is í an tslí is fearr chun an Ghaeilge a thabhairt don chéad ghlúin eile ná clann a thógáil le Gaeilge. Ní bhíonn aon strus nó brú ar aon pháiste atá ag foghlaim na Gaeilge ón gcliabhán. Bíonn an Ghaeilge aige nó aici mar a tharlaíonn sé. Is é ceann de na rudaí is tábhachtaí dúinn mar Dháil agus Oireachtas ná cabhair a thabhairt do na tuismitheoirí atá ag iarraidh clann a thógáil le Gaeilge, iad siúd atá sa Ghaeltacht agus iad siúd atá taobh amuigh di freisin. Gan aon Ghaeltacht, bheadh an cath caillte mar gheall ar ár gcuid teanga. Is tobar don teanga í. Tá an Ghaeilge i bhfad níos saibhre agus níos doimhne istigh sa Ghaeltacht ná aon áit eile.”
“Is mian liom míle buíochas agus fáilte a ghabháil le muintir Chonradh na Gaeilge agus na gníomhairí Gaeilge eile atá thuas sa Ghailearaí as an méid oibre atá déanta acu le fada an lá, le níos mó ná 100 bliain sa tír seo. Gan iad, bheadh an teanga i bhfad níos laige timpeall na tíre gan dabht. Is linne an Ghaeilge. Is seoid í an Ghaeilge. Tá ár n-ainmneacha agus logainmneacha scríofa i nGaeilge. Is teanga ársa í ach is teanga nua-aimseartha í freisin. Tá daoine ag tógáil clann sa tír seo le Gaeilge. Tá siad ag déanamh gnó sa Ghaeilge. Tá sí mar mheán cumarsáide sa tír seo, idir an seanchumarsáid agus leithéidí Twitter, Facebook, Instagram agus TikTok. Tá sí fite fuaite inár gcuid féiniúlachta. Is stór saibhris í an Ghaeilge mar gheall ar scéalta, ealaín, filíocht, dráma agus amhráin. Is struchtúr smaointe í an Ghaeilge freisin.”
“Gabhaim míle buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. Ar dtús, cuirim fáilte roimh an rún ó Shinn Féin. Caithfidh mé a rá go bhfuil go leor oibre déanta le fada an lá ag an Teachta Ó Snodaigh mar gheall ar an teanga. Is mian liom freisin smaoineamh ar a athair, a bhí ina ghníomhaire teanga le fada an lá, a fuair bás le déanaí. Déanaim comhbhrón leis an Teachta Ó Snodaigh.”
“The number is ballooning out of all proportion and there is very little research, debate or discussion in this Chamber about what is actually happening with children across the country. Most of the referrals were made by gardaí, social workers and teachers, but referrals were also made by probation officers, immigration officials, managers of direct provision centres, homeless accommodation staff and addiction counsellors. What will the Government do about this? What extra resources will be invested into Tusla to enable it to deal with this shocking increase in numbers? Will the Taoiseach meet foster carers, the residential care sector and EPIC to make sure there is proper investment in this area?”
“Today, Aontú received information from Tusla showing that during the first nine months of last year 70,000 children were referred to Tusla. That means that for the whole year it is likely 94,000 children were referred to Tusla, which is the highest figure on record. It is 30,000 more children than sat the leaving certificate last year. It is equivalent to all the children in Meath and Westmeath being referred to Tusla on an annual basis. It is an incredibly high figure. Nearly 70,000 of those referrals related to physical abuse, 4,000 related to sexual abuse and 4,000 related to neglect, while 43,000 referrals involved child welfare concerns. This is an issue Aontú raises every single year.”
“Right now, we have seen Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael actively seek to take apart the triple lock. There is no doubt that the Government has been outsourcing our international policy to the EU, and now it seems that the Government is also looking to involve us in EU military actions.”
“Active neutrality allows for courageous, nonaggressive engagement with the rest of the world. Our record in UN peacekeeping, nuclear non-proliferation, decolonisation, significant aid to developing countries and supporting Palestinian self-determination has given us an internationally recognised position as an honest broker. Unfortunately, I do not believe that this Government actually uses this opportunity at all. I believe that this Government is taking material steps to bin Irish neutrality. Two years ago, Micheál Martin came home from the Conference on the Future of Europe and said that he would be open to EU treaty change that would allow for the changes to the functioning of the EU. That treaty change would allow for military and security matters to be changed in how decisions are made.”
“Today is not the day for it, but NATO and the EU have questions to answer over the destabilisation of that region in the past. There has been a concerted effort by this Government to use the war in Ukraine to ditch Irish neutrality. I believe our neutrality may also be a casualty of that war. Historically, small countries have been sceptical of the intentions of military blocs. Military blocs most often orientate their military actions for their own economic objectives. We have seen that countless times, most recently with the US in the Middle East. Small countries such as Ireland would also have little or no influence in the decisions of these large military blocs. We would have to have young men and women fight those wars, but we would have no say over those wars. That would be a grave mistake as well.”
“I believe that Ireland should help the people of Ukraine but that help should be humanitarian. We should provide medical help to those who have been injured, try to feed and clothe those who have been made homeless and try to rebuild that economy. We should also sanction Russia to pressure it to end the war. Ireland has a competitive advantage when it comes to peace. Violence on our island has given us a competency for peace negotiations. It has given us a key insight that peace is built on negotiation and not war. Peace is built on justice. If the Good Friday Agreement teaches us anything, it is a recognition that there are two sides with a mutually exclusive understanding of what is happening and mutually exclusive objectives.”
“The damage that has been done to Ukraine will last for generations. Even with the will of the whole western world to rebuild that country, there is no doubt there will be intergenerational damage done as a result of the war. The war was started and prosecuted by Vladimir Putin. The Russian invasion is the cause of the war. It is an attack on the democratic and territorial rights of the people of Ukraine. Russia is responsible for the death and destruction. It is right that the international community has stood against Putin's invasion of Ukraine. Every country should have the right to democratically determine its own foreign policy, who it is aligned with and whether it is neutral. This is the definition of democratic autonomy and self-determination.”
“I, too, welcome the visitors from Ukraine to the Public Gallery. The war in Ukraine is first and foremost a human disaster. More than 70,000 Ukrainian soldiers are thought to have been killed in the war so far. It is estimated that 12,000 civilians have been killed also. It is estimated that 116,000 people fighting for the Russian military are also dead in the fourth year of this war. That is a death toll of nearly 200,000 people as a result of this conflict, not to mention the hundreds of thousands of people who have been seriously injured by this war. It is estimated that 3.7 million people in Ukraine have been internally displaced and 7 million people from Ukraine have been globally displaced. These figures represent human devastation on an industrial scale. Each individual death is a catastrophe for that individual.”
“Everybody is here on the basis of democratic mandate and they should be able to represent their constituents on an equal basis with everybody else. Standing Orders are historical and they are no longer fit for purpose.”
“I want to briefly focus on the lack of committees. That is a massive point. It is significant that we currently have a pinch point in terms of the Opposition and the Government and how speaking time is allocated in this Chamber. As a result, that is slowing down the development of committees, which are a major tool of oversight of Government activities and also necessary for the delivery of the legislative programme. It is important that this issue gets resolved ASAP. We need Standing Orders that reflect the multiparty system we have, that clearly defines the difference between an Opposition TD and a Government TD and assigns speaking times on that basis. Members who are outside the technical group system should also have the right to speak.”
“We either need jobs in County Meath or we need a proper transport system into Dublin. We do not have it. We have been promised the rail line, but it is not going to be built until 2036. It is too long to wait. We need the rail line speeded up as soon as possible.”
“It happens in no other local authority area that such a large number of people leave. At least 17,000 people are commuting for well over one hour daily and many of them for up to two and three hours. They are in commuter hell. It has a massive effect not just on the environment and the cost in people's pockets but also on families. I have no doubt that many mothers and fathers are getting home so late in the evening they hardly have a small window of time during which they can put their children to bed. Everything is squeezed into an hour and a half of family life. I have no doubt as well that this is leading to significant levels of anxiety among small children because of them not having access to their parents at all during the day. Significant problems, therefore, are occurring in this regard.”
“There is a problem with the spatial development of the country. The main driver of spatial development currently is the system whereby young people who go to college cannot get a job other than in Dublin. The reality is most young people cannot afford to live in Dublin. What happens then is that they live 30 km, 40 km or 50 km from Dublin and they join the commuter belt. Evidence of this is that the average age in Killarney is now ten years older than in Balbriggan. We are changing the spatial picture in the country because of the lack of spatial development. This is putting an awful lot of people in a difficult position. County Meath, for example, has the highest number of commuters in the country. Well over 45,000 people leave the county every day to go to work.”
“On one level the Government is refusing to deliver decent public transport to people and on the other level the Government is making it really difficult for people to get into their cars and drive to work. We have seen the increase in tolls and we have see the increase in excise on fuel. This is not just a philosophical question and it is not a theoretical question. These are real people trying to have real lives, trying to get to work, trying to study in college, and trying to live their lives. Currently Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael in Government are damaging these people's lives because the Government will not provide the testers and will not provide the public transport.”
“The Government has a system for cancellations whereby it invites young people to look at the websites to see what cancellations are happening on the testing. I know many young people who are on that website or the app all the time waiting for a cancellation so they can get in on it and still they cannot get a test for themselves. It is an incredible situation. This is having a significant effect on people's lives and especially young people. Many young people in Meath are living in areas where there is little or no public transport. The vast majority of people in County Meath - some 80,000 people - travel to work by car. We have been crying out for the rail line to be built between Navan and Dublin for at least 20 years and the Minister of State's Government has still not provided that.”
“If the Government will not pay people, and especially when there are extremely high rents, then people are not going to be able to do the job and they will leave the country and do the job elsewhere. Also, the Government has gotten rid of temporary testers in recent times, which is a good policy in the long term but it has had a destabilising effect in the short term. It has actually reduced the number of people working in the area as well. Another element is when a number of testers are pulled out of testing sites and they are moved on to other testing sites because perhaps they have competencies in another type of vehicle testing. This is causing instability within the testing centres as well, which is slowing the process down too.”
“If the Department only employs three testers for the whole of Meath this means that at best each tester can get through 40 tests a week and 120 is a total that the county can achieve. If they are doing it at a rate of 120 a week it will take 40 weeks just to get through the existing waiting list never mind the number of people who will join that waiting list in the interim. That is an incredible statistic. I believe the Government has caused some of the difficulty here. First of all, like many aspects of modern society the delivery of services is grinding to a halt. Why? It is because this Government will not pay proper pay and terms and conditions to workers within the public sector.”
“I would like it if the Minister of State could maybe pay less attention to his notes and a bit more to the debate that is actually happening here, if that is alright.”
“Navan has the longest waiting times in the country at the moment. Learners are waiting up to 33 weeks just to receive an appointment. Waits for retests can mean anything up to six or seven months. Is that acceptable to the Minister of State? It is certainly not acceptable to the thousands of young people in my county who are desperate for a driver's licence so they can go about their business. As of April last year, there were 5,305 individuals on that waiting list. It was an incredibly high figure and the reason is quite obvious. There is a shortage of testers able to actually go through those tests to reduce the numbers. In the whole of Meath there are three testers currently. This is an incredible figure.”
“The high court in the North has said there must be a public inquiry of Sean's murder but the Northern Secretary, Hilary Benn, is appealing that court order. Given the suffering the family has been put through in the long block for their search for justice, this latest move by the British Government is disgusting. Will the Taoiseach directly appeal to the British Prime Minister that there is a speedy inquest into the murder of Sean Brown?”
“Sean Brown was a father of six, a lifelong GAA member and official and a highly respected member of his community. On 12 May 1997, while locking up the gates of the Bellaghy Wolfe Tones GAA club in Derry, he was abducted and viciously murdered. He was murdered because he was a Catholic and because he was the chairperson of his GAA club. Bridie Brown, Sean's wife, attended the recent GAA congress in Donegal to plead for help in the search for justice. The family have attended court 57 times in their search for justice and they have said they have met with silence, excuses and denials. They said the police investigations were a failure, an insult and a cover-up of British state collusion.”
“It could write into their contracts that they have a responsibility to mind the public purse. It could be written into their contracts that there will potentially be an actual financial cost to them or loss of their jobs if they do not do their jobs. The Government could change the situation whereby citizens are not waking up every morning-----”