Pearse Doherty
Donegal · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I move amendment No. 1 to Seanad recommendation No. 2: To delete from the row dated "1 September 2026" down to and including the row dated "1 May 2030" and substitute the following: " 15 July 2026 €502.88 €502.88 €371.85 €371.85 €371.85 €0.00 €210.45 €172.14 €167.25 €79.17 €11.48 14 October 2026 €502.88 €502.88 €371.85 €371.85 €371.85 €0.…”
“Next week, this House will rise, the doors of Leinster House will be locked and Ministers will head off on their summer holidays. Their parting gift to ordinary Irish people across the State will be to have locked in fuel price increases that will hit them in their pockets.”
“That is not acceptable and it is why we in Sinn Féin have tabled this amendment to say that these price increases should not be going ahead and that prices should be properly monitored at the appropriate time.”
“This is tied to the latter amendment and I will speak further at length on that. Recommendation No. 1 deals with the diesel rebate scheme, which operates within a window that closes on 1 October.”
“Hope is what we rely on when we have no control. It is not a substitute for prudent economic planning. There is zero certainty here. There are no guarantees that the Strait of Hormuz will remain open or that global supply lines will not be choked tomorrow morning.”
“As if that were not good enough, the Government is not just hitting people with increases on petrol and diesel. On top of that, it is going to hit them with an increase in the cost of home heating oil, natural gas and a basic bag of coal.”
The complete record
Every one of 1,554 lines we hold for Pearse Doherty, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 26 of 32.
“I welcome Cara Darmody and her father, Mark, to the Visitors Gallery. Cara, as we all know, has just finished her 50-hour protest outside the Dáil. You are an incredible young woman and we are all so proud of you. We know we have a fight on our hands to stop Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael from watering down or removing children's right to access an assessment of need in a timely manner. I believe I can speak for all of the combined Opposition when I say that we will be with you every step of the way in this fight. We will keep going until every child has an assessment of need and the services and supports he or she needs to flourish and thrive. No child will be left behind. Cara, you are an absolute inspiration to all of us and we are so proud of you. Tá scannal an ospidéil náisiúnta ag dul ar aghaidh agus ar aghaidh.”
“I welcome the fact the Minister has committed to visit. During that visit, we might arrange a meeting specifically in respect of the new ferry as well in order that we could discuss how to move that forward.”
“I appreciate the fact the Minister is coming to Magheraroarty over the summer. At that opportunity, we might meet Comharchumann Thoraí as well to see how this commitment can be progressed. I would welcome that. As I said, this is really about a brand-new boat that was promised. When the Government has made a promise, it needs to be delivered. This is what I would like to tease out with the Minister. Whoever operates the service will operate the service, but they will operate a brand-new ferry. There are possibilities here to cut the travel time as well. With a brand-new, bespoke boat that is built and suitable for that journey, which is a difficult one, we could reduce the travel time. This would increase the benefit for the islanders but also for tourism. We see a huge uptick in tourism.”
“What we heard last year from the Minister's predecessor was that the Government is not actually moving ahead with that at the minute, that it is still committed to it but that the reason it is not moving ahead is it has to do works at Magheraroarty. The point I am making to the Minister is Magheraroarty is completely separate. The ferry service that the Minister outlined to the Dáil operates from Magheraroarty. A brand-new, state-of-the-art ferry can also operate from there. Is the Department committed to the proposal it put to the island community in 2018 to deliver that and will the Minister uncouple it from Magheraroarty and deliver on this project?”
“I thank the Minister for his response in regard to the existing services for Tory. Obviously, a tender will issue for those services supported by the Department later in the year. The key point I want to raise is that in 2018, before Deputy Calleary's time as Minister, there was a serious issue with the ferry in and out of Tory. As a result, the Government brought in a mediator and made Government proposals. One of those proposals is that a brand-new ferry that would be suitable for Tory Island would be built. Whoever operated the ferry was a matter for tender, but it would be built at a cost of €4 million and it would be delivered within three years. It is seven years on and that ferry is nowhere to be seen. It is nowhere in the planning stages. It is nowhere in the design stages.”
“Tógaim an cheist fá dtaobh de bád farantóireachta Thoraigh. Seo bád a bhí gealta do Oileán Thoraí agus an pobal in 2018 agus é le bheith tógtha taobh istigh de thrí bliana. Go fóill, níl bád ar bith ar fáil. I want to raise the issue of the Tory Island ferry. It was a commitment given by the Government in 2018 that a ferry would be provided and there was a vote on the island to deal with an issue that had arisen. It was supposed to be delivered within three years but there is no boat, no ferry and no plans for a ferry anytime soon. Now, there is a condition saying this is attached to a pier, although that had never been the case. There are ferries going in and out of Magheraroarty pier all the time. The Government needs to deliver on the commitment.”
“I urge the Government to drop the nonsense of denying that this is happening and to work with us. This legislation is ready to go. It was drafted not by us but by the Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers. It is compatible with the Constitution and EU and international law. We need to pass this legislation without delay, we need to give effect to the will of the Irish people and we need to ensure that Ireland is in no way complicit in funding genocide, which is what is happening under our very eyes.”
“That is what this Bill does. It provides for national restrictive measures that have the same effect and that will end the sale of Israeli war bonds through the Irish Central Bank. This has happened before. Direction has been given to the Central Bank before in the context of Russia. The Government needs to be straight with the Irish people. The Bill will give the Minister for Finance the explicit power to intervene to stop Israel using Ireland to raise money in Europe, money that pays for the bombs and the tanks and the weapons being used to slaughter children. We have the ability to end the sale of Israeli war bonds across the European Union. We should never have had any involvement in this but we now have the power to pull the plug. We will advance this legislation next week. It will be tabled for Second Stage.”
“Let us be clear, then, that the legal advice is that this Bill is constitutionally compliant, compatible with EU law and in accordance with international law. Therefore, any blocking of this legislation would be a political choice. It is important we drop the myth that is coming from the Government and that it is is trying to peddle that this is somehow not allowed under EU law and that the Government cannot interfere with the Central Bank. All of that is nonsense. The Central Bank has made it clear that the Government can intervene. The Central Bank wrote a letter to the finance committee and made it clear that it can refuse the approval only where it has a legal basis to do so. It went on to outline the two legal bases it would require: by either EU financial sanctions or national restrictive measures to the same effect.”
“That is exactly what we are doing in this legislation; we are following international law, ending any complicity in funding genocide. I and Deputy McDonald here, the sponsors of this Bill, took every effort to make sure this legislation is watertight because we feared the Government would use any excuse to delay or oppose it. I thank the independent Office of Parliamentary Legal Advisers. The work it has done on the legal opinion and the drafting of this legislation is first-class. The legal opinion concluded that "we can provide for restricted access to financial services on the basis of public policy grounds that are rooted in Ireland's fundamental interest in pursuing its international law obligations".”
“We are being made complicit in funding genocide and it runs completely against the will of the Irish people. This came to light before the election last year from reporting from The Ditch . I raised it with the Central Bank and the Minister for Finance. The Central Bank said it needed guidance from the Government. The Minister washed his hands, saying it was the Central Bank's decision. He tried to pass it off as business as usual in the face of genocide. Shamefully, we heard the same yesterday from the Taoiseach. In July 2024, the International Court of Justice concluded that Israel's occupation of Palestine is illegal and urged member states "to take steps to prevent trade or investment relations that assist in the maintenance of the illegal ... [settlements]".”
“That is the history that shapes the Irish people, and we stand firmly on the side of Palestine in this dark hour. The inaction of this Government is a disrespect to our history - every Israeli arms shipment that passes through our airspace, every excuse and delay to the occupied territories Bill, every day our Central Bank facilitates the sale of Israeli war bonds. Many people still do not know but would be horrified to find out that Ireland is playing a key role in Israel raising money in Europe for its genocide. Our Central Bank provides permission to sell war bonds across the European Union - not any other central bank; it is only the Irish Central Bank that gives such permission. These are not normal financial instruments. Israel is openly advertising this as a way of supporting its so-called war effort. This, however, is not a war.”
“I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to empower the Minister for Finance to make regulations imposing certain restrictive measures in respect of securities issued by or on behalf of the State of Israel; and to provide for related matters. Israel is committing genocide. A population bombed relentlessly is now on the brink of starvation. Some 14,000 babies are hours away from death. This is no famine; this is hunger as a weapon. Palestinian men, women and children are being exterminated as the world watches on. Arms shipments and preferential trade - it is sickening. It makes a mockery of so-called western values and European values when you scratch the surface and they are colonial values underneath. Irish liberation and Irish republicanism are anti-colonial movements.”
“Then it needs to make sure all the services and treatments follow, including school places, speech and language and all of the rest. Do I have any confidence that this Government will deliver? Absolutely not. Shame on this Government that in a country that is rich with resources, a 14-year-old girl has to sleep outside Leinster House to draw attention to its failures.”
“That we are in this situation is a shame on the Government, as is the fact that the Government’s response is not to fix the problem but to take away the right that was fought for and won 20 years ago in the Disability Act. I refer to the right of someone with a disability - the only right they have - that within six months the State will carry out an assessment of what their needs are. The Government has failed over and over, and because it has no solution to fix the system it is taking away that right. Shame on the Government. We will fight it tooth and nail on this. We do not need to take away rights but to deliver on those rights. Assessments of need must be delivered within six months. The Government can do that by funding the Cara fund, by proper workforce management and by treating this as the emergency it is.”
“There is €8.5 billion of a surplus yet we have 15,296 children who are being failed their legal entitlement to have an assessment of need. That is the reality. That is the type of country we live in. Why has this come about? It has not happened overnight. We have told the Government the solutions over and over again, but it will not listen. It will not resource the system. As Cara rightly pointed out, it is about ideology. I am so impressed by the amazing campaign Cara Darmody has fought - every single person on the Opposition benches can talk about it - but a 14-year-old child should not be fighting a campaign like this. Every person in this State should have the right to have an assessment carried out in relation to the needs they have and then the services should flow after.”
“Before the Minister leaves, I want to say to her that the fact she delivered a copy-and-paste speech is an insult to the 15,000 children who she is failing legally in their entitlement. She read out nearly word for word the speech that was delivered earlier. At least she should have had the decency to put it into her own words and pay a bit more respect to this debate tonight. The Taoiseach told us earlier that the Government will continue to break the law. It is simply unacceptable. We live in a State with a surplus of €8.5 billion but we have a 14-year-old girl who is protesting outside the gates of Leinster House for 50 hours because she is standing up for her brothers and for every other child across the State who the Government is breaking the law in relation to. It is a disgrace that this is happening.”
“That is why 50% of families do not have enough to get them through the next three months if something goes wrong. It is why one in eight single parents cannot put a roast dinner on the table, according to the CSO. By any measure, the Government is failing to get to grips with people's real needs here and now. It has ruled out a cost-of-living package. The Government needs to come to its senses and commit to a cost-of-living package to alleviate the pressure on so many families right across this State.”
“This month the Department of Finance published its economic projections. The State will run a combined surplus this year and next of €15 billion. At the same time, the Government tells workers and families they are on their own and there will be no cost-of-living package in this year's budget. Does the Government simply not get it or is it ignoring the plight of ordinary people who are under serious pressure due to the cost of living? We have double digit rent increases. We have the highest electricity prices in Europe. The cost of insurance is going through the roof - up 9%. The cost of groceries is going up. The cost of petrol and diesel will go up again in September courtesy of the Government. The Government also put up the price of gas and home heating oil just last week.”
“The Government needs to deal with this. I know every single person in this Chamber would be appalled at the idea of a young girl being opened up, her bone being chiselled into unnecessarily and left with a scar and pain, but it is the Government's responsibility to provide a pathway and certainty for those families. I ask the Minister a simple question - will the Government ensure that every single one of the 2,260 families that got that letter will be given an independent clinical pathway to determine whether their child was operated on unnecessarily? That is the first question they want answered.”
“They are going to London. They are putting their hands in their own pockets because the Government is giving them no answers. The fact is the parent I talked to this morning sent 30 letters looking for information without a response.”
“With respect, that is not good enough. The fact is that 2,260 letters were issued. The fact is the letters were issued as part of the implementation of a recommendation of the draft audit. The fact is the draft audit said all of those children should be recalled. The fact is there are 2,260 families out there that are anxious. The fact is none of those families knows whether their child was operated on. The fact is the Government has no plan at this point in time to provide a pathway that will allow them to determine if that is the case. The audit is not going to tell them that. I asked the Government two months ago to get ahead of this. I pleaded with the Government. We have given countless examples of families who are no longer waiting for the Government and are instead seeking a second opinion. They have gone to America.”
“I asked the Government two months ago to get ahead of this. It is not fair that it has left families in this situation for that period.”
“They want to know if the surgery that was carried out on their child was necessary or not. The audit is not going to give them that answer. It is an anonymised study. It will not give them the individual answer. The Government is asking parents to wait. It is asking them to trust the process but trust has completely broken down. I have a simple question for the Government today on behalf of parents who have contacted me, Deputies Cullinane and Carthy and many others in our party and across the benches. Can you tell me that for every single one of those 2,260 anxious families, every one of their children will have access to an independent clinical assessment that will answer the simple question for them as to whether their child was operated on necessarily or unnecessarily? When will they be given access to that clinical assessment?”
“She described feeling like a rabbit in headlights, but like any parent would, she followed the medical advice and after five weeks her daughter had the second operation. When this letter dropped in her letter box seven weeks ago, she was immediately concerned. She sent 30 emails over a period of five weeks to CHI without one response. Only when she got her solicitor involved did she get a response. She sought a second medical opinion. She is now sure that the first hip operation, at best, was premature and the second operation was not needed at all. She is frustrated at the lack of answers from CHI and from the Government. This is not an isolated case. Every family I have spoken to over the last two months are looking for one thing more than anything else.”
“They have been left with scars for their life, and now we find out that these surgeries may have been unnecessary. Imagine having to bring your two year old little girl into that operating theatre, having to leave her in the hands of the system, only to find out that the surgery, the pain, the learning how to walk again and that scar she has on her hip was never necessary and the surgery did not need to happen. That is the experience of so many parents out there. It is the experience of one mother who I spoke to this morning. In 2015 she brought her little girl, two years of age, for surgery on her right hip. It was the only hip that was ever mentioned in all the assessments. After the operation she was told that she needed surgery on the other hip as well.”
“The Taoiseach this week was still trying to downplay these letters, suggesting they were issued to reassure parents on the back of a media leak of the draft report. That is nonsense. These letters were sent out to implement an early recommendation of the draft audit. The recommendation calls for the recall of all these children for follow-up. Why is CHI implementing an early recommendation of the draft audit? It is because the draft audit is shocking, devastating and damning. It states that 60% of surgeries in one hospital and 80% of surgeries in another were unnecessary. Let what that means sink in for a moment. Children as young as one years of age have had their hips opened up, cutting into their bones. They have had to learn how to walk again.”
“Fuaireamar amach inné gur seoladh litreacha chuig 2,260 teaghlach faoin scannal tubaisteach maidir le hobráidí chromán na leanaí. Tá tuismitheoirí fós feargach nach bhfuil an t-eolas ón Rialtas ná na hospidéil á thabhairt dóibh. Yesterday we learned the scope and scale of the devastating hip surgery scandal. Some 2,260 families have been sent letters. I raised this issue on Leaders' Questions two months ago in March. I called on the Government to get ahead of it and to tell parents what was going on. Parents are still being kept in the dark, even today. What does it say about the Government that facing into this scandal, it took two months to even ask CHI how many children were affected and how many letters have been issued.”
“This is because drivers simply either cannot go to work or they have to sit at home, so they are taking a risk and are getting caught by the Garda. Obviously, it is a risk they should not be taking. If there was an accident, they would not be insured. It is absolutely ridiculous. Are they doing this out of malice? Are they trying to beat the system or defy the rules? No, they are not. They want to drive legally. They want driving tests, and the State is preventing them from getting them within a reasonable period. It is not acceptable, and the Government needs to get its finger out and act on this. We need to give certainty to people about when this issue will be resolved and when it is likely that they will be able to sit their tests within the normal period.”
“She has a car, which she has been able to pay for, and insurance, which she has been able to pay for, but she needs an accompanying driver because she has not passed her driving test. She has to wait seven months. She has been left in a situation where she cannot take up that job. She will likely have to leave the Gaeltacht area in which she lives and move to a city where she can access transport in order to travel to and from work. It is absolutely ridiculous. This is not an issue that fell out of the sky or happened overnight. It has been going on for a significant period. What we see are not improvements; we see the situation getting worse. It is no wonder that the Garda reported a 95% increase in the number of detections of unaccompanied drivers.”
“As my colleague Deputy Mac Lochlainn stated, people are waiting seven months for driving tests. As of April, 83,000 people were on the waiting list. Matters are getting worse because 10,000 more joined the list in the past three months. This is simply out of control, and the Government is sitting on its hands while it is happening. In some cases, the impact on these individuals is immense. I have been contacted by a young woman who was born and bred in an Irish-speaking community in the Gaeltacht. Tá grá aici don teanga agus tá sí ag iarraidh a bheith fostaithe ag obair leis an teanga ó thaobh na teilifíse de agus a leithéid. She wants to work in the Irish language sector in television. She was offered a job, but she needs to travel for 25 minutes each day in order to access that job.”
“The Government has a constitutional duty to uphold the citizenship rights of everybody born on the island of Ireland. This is about equality, recognition and democratic participation. We should not be facing into a presidential election where citizens in the North are again excluded. This must be the last time it ever happens. The time for excuses is over. Will the Tánaiste's Government stop the delaying, set a date, act on this long overdue promise and allow for voting rights in presidential elections for citizens in the North as the Assembly democratically voted on earlier this week?”
“So much for backbenchers wanting so much time on Leaders' Questions. The Government did all this for Lowry and now its backbenchers do not even turn up for the thing it forced through. It is so embarrassing. This week saw a historic vote in the Assembly in support of extending presidential voting rights to Irish citizens in the North. It is a powerful message from the Assembly, one that transcends political differences and affirms the principles of equality enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement. It has been 12 years since the constitutional convention in Dublin voted overwhelmingly to extend the vote and nine years since Fine Gael committed in a programme for Government to holding a referendum. We have had three Governments since then but nothing has happened.”
“Will he give us an early assessment of the impact of those measures in Ireland, if they were to come to pass? We all hope that they will never come to pass? However, the Tánaiste told his parliamentary party meeting that we may face difficult decisions, so I am very concerned. In the past, the Government used the issue of tariffs in the context of low-paid workers having to wait longer while at the same time the Government is preparing to increase CEO salaries right across semi-State boards, and protecting the insiders such as we have seen in terms of Brendan McDonagh's salary and all of the rest. I want the Tánaiste to answer that question. I presume he has seen the countermeasures coming from the European Union. Are they in Ireland's interests?”
“I thank the Tánaiste and we will definitely take him up on that briefing. There are two points here. We know that tariffs increase prices on consumers but even if there were no tariffs there is a cost of living crisis. I really think that the Government does not get it. Whatever way the Government dresses it up, last week it actually heaped more pressure on families through the carbon tax. It makes it more expensive for people to heat their homes. It makes it more expensive to cook their food. This is at a time when they are struggling with grocery prices, rent, insurance and so on. With regard to the countermeasures that come from the European Union, I presume the Tánaiste's office has been engaged with them or has had sight of them.”
“What assessment has the Tánaiste's Department done of the impact on prices and jobs from increasing tariffs and EU countermeasures? Can he assure the public that their interests and Ireland's interests will be reflected in the EU response to be announced today and that the all-Ireland economy will be protected? Does he accept that Irish people are living through a cost-of-living crisis and that certainty is needed that there will be a cost-of-living package in this year's budget?”
“With all the pressure on households, what the Government has done is to rule out a cost-of-living package in the October budget. It appears the message from Government is that working people are on their own. If that was not enough for working people to worry about, they heard from the Fine Gael Parliamentary Party that the prospect of countertariffs from the EU means that the Government may need to take difficult decisions. The Tánaiste talks about difficult decisions. Unfortunately, the Irish people are all too familiar with difficult decisions. They have seen them time and time again. Just last week, we saw the Government prioritised CEOs and political insiders on massive salaries while ordinary workers were asked to wait longer for pay increases to bring them to a living wage.”
“Although the Government would like to pretend otherwise, the tariff uncertainty is happening as working people are dealing with an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis. Households are hit by soaring grocery prices and energy costs and record rents, and we saw yesterday how motorists are being fleeced by sharp increases in motor insurance. It is all going in one direction and that direction is up. To add insult to injury, just last week, the Government, in its wisdom, heaped more pressure on those families by increasing carbon tax, making it more expensive for those families to heat their homes and cook their food. It is madness in the context of a cost-of-living crisis. Ordinary people are already struggling and cannot afford a tit-for-tat tariff war.”
“The ESRI and the Department of Finance have been clear that President Trump's tariffs are damaging and that countertariffs from the EU would make things worse through a hit to the public finances and to jobs and through pushing prices higher for Irish consumers. I hope the Tánaiste has made Ireland's unique position very clear in his discussions with his EU counterparts. We need an outcome that protects Irish jobs, livelihoods and the future of our economy and the all-island economy. As I said, that requires cool heads and calm negotiations. It also requires a willingness on both sides to have meaningful negotiations. We know that nobody wins in a trade war but it is always ordinary workers and families who suffer the most.”
“This major change in US economic policy, particularly in the context of a trade deal with Britain, brings unique challenges here on the island of Ireland for cross-Border trade and our all-island economy. The Government needs to be alert and to act to ensure that post-Brexit gains and the progress made are protected so that the all-island economy can continue to grow and prosper. The European Union is also set to launch its suite of countermeasures to the US tariffs today. We have warned that a tit-for-tat trade war between the United States and the European Union would not be in Ireland's interest.”
“Tá a fhios againn go bhfuil oibrithe agus teaghlaigh ag streachailt cheana féin le costais maireachtála. Déanann an chaint seo ar tharaifí dochar do ghnáth-theaghlaigh trí phraghsanna a ardú. Ní féidir leis an Rialtas seo oibrithe a thréigean. Tá na hoibrithe seo faoi bhrú cheana féin. Tá imní orthu agus iad ag cloisteáil faoi chogadh trádála sna nuachtáin. Later today, we expect the President of the United States to announce a trade deal with Britain. This will be the first deal struck since the American Administration unveiled aggressive tariffs on its trading partners across the world, including here in the European Union. Those tariffs were latterly partially suspended to allow space for negotiations. We all know that it is through negotiations and cool heads that this issue will be resolved.”
“That is the effect of today's increase in carbon tax. Will the Government come to its senses on this issue and stop all carbon tax increases for the next number of years?”
“People are struggling under relentless cost-of-living crises. Despite that, the Tánaiste's Government has decided to increase carbon taxes. It is going to heap more pressure on workers and families, and we know the carbon tax is regressive. It hits ordinary people on middle and low incomes the hardest, and the Government plans to continue to do this for the next five years, all signed off by Independents who support the Government. This is at a time when people are struggling with costs. We know that the cost of groceries has gone up. We see double-digit rent increases, crippling childcare costs, and insurance costs going up and up. In the face of all of this and all that pressure, what the Tánaiste and the Cabinet have decided is to put up the price of a bag of coal and of home heating oil, and to make people's gas bills higher.”
“Deputy James Lawless, a Minister at the Cabinet, was talking in Kildare this morning and said that it is a big salary. This is understood, yet the Tánaiste is trying to backtrack after a public backlash about this. A housing tsar is a daft idea because the housing Minister should be doing that job in the first instance. What salary is the Tánaiste willing to accept to pay this housing tsar? What salary does he believe is appropriate? Is it €300,000, €350,000, €400,000, or €430,000? Will he please give clarity to the people about his thinking on this? Or will he just wait to see what way the wind blows, go with it and then pretend he was never on board in the first instance?”
“Who is the Tánaiste trying to fool? He just stood up and barefaced said there is no housing tsar in his plan. Is that what he is trying to say? Does he know what his housing Minister said on "RTÉ News at One" yesterday? He said that Brendan McDonagh is "our preferred candidate". The Tánaiste said there are no candidates. The idea that there have not been conversations with Brendan McDonagh is nonsense, as is the idea that the Tánaiste did not know. Did the Tánaiste not read the Business Post six weeks ago when Brendan McDonagh's name was mentioned? What about Jack Horgan-Jones' piece about a month ago? The idea that the Tánaiste is blindsided by this is nonsense. The Government is proposing a housing tsar with a salary of €430,000. That is what is on the cards here.”
“It is a real slap in the face for them. It is not lost on anybody that this is happening on International Workers' Day, when the Government is breaking its election promises about increasing the minimum wage to the living wage and rowing back on its pledge to increase the number of paid sick days for workers. I know the Cabinet committee on housing is meeting today about this embarrassing idea to have a jobshare for the housing Minister. Will the Tánaiste come to his senses? Will he call stop on this absurd idea to pay someone hundreds of thousands of euro to do the job of the housing Minister, which he is already well-paid for? If this idea goes ahead and if the Tánaiste thinks he has seen a backlash now, he should get ready because he has not seen anything yet.”
“This appointment and the name of Brendan McDonagh has been flagged in the national media with him as the lead candidate for nearly two months. Either the Tánaiste was very much on board or he was asleep at the wheel. Which one was it? Was he just oblivious to everything that has been written and said for the past six weeks or is this just an attempt by Fine Gael to dress this up as a Fianna Fáil solo run and a PR job because he recognises there is a public backlash about this? Ordinary people are shaking their heads and are sick to their stomachs in disbelief. This is happening at a time when so many are finding it difficult to make ends meet, hit by rip-off bill after rip-off bill and at a time when our working people and young people are struggling to find a home and to keep a roof over their heads.”
“The Taoiseach's claim that the public will not cough up for this gold-plated salary appears not to be true, because this morning it has come to light that following the winding-down of NAMA, which is happening this year, McDonagh is due to return to his role in the NTMA at a significantly reduced salary so the taxpayer will foot the bill for this madcap salary. Is that not the truth? There has been much speculation as well that Fine Gael is not happy. The media has been briefed about rows at Cabinet. Fine Gael backbenchers are apparently up in arms. Apparently the Tánaiste himself was blindsided by this bonkers decision and the process that was involved. He should come off the stage. There is no blindsiding going on here.”
“The Minister himself said that this housing tsar will come up with "rapid responses from all angles and unblocking delivery via a targeted team of experts." Does he not realise that that is his job that he is describing? That is his actual job. It is farcical. The Taoiseach lectured the Opposition that this whopping €430,000 will not cost the public any additional money. He said this is because the Government's preferred candidate, Brendan McDonagh, is already receiving the salary as the head of NAMA.”
“Is náireach plean an Rialtais beagnach €500,000 a íoc leis an sár tithíochta nua chun post a roinnt leis an Aire tithíochta. Tá an pobal iontach feargach mar gheall ar seo, agus ní cóir go rachaidh sé ar aghaidh. Ní féidir le duine ar bith an seasamh seo a chosaint agus ní cóir go n-éireodh leis. A sum of €430,000 is the off-the-wall salary that the Tánaiste's Government is planning to pay the new housing tsar to come in and basically jobshare with the housing Minister, Deputy James Browne. A few words have been written and used to describe this decision. They include "absurd", "extravagant" and "scandalous". I will add another: "embarrassing". The Government should be embarrassed that it was prepared to pay someone nearly half a million euro to take up what are the main responsibilities of the Minister for housing.”