Réada Cronin
Kildare North · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“A united Ireland will change that and unlock an all-island economy that would work for everyone who lives on this island. Every Irish county would finally have a government whose only priority is Ireland.”
“Cuirim fáilte roimh an díospóireacht seo inniu. Many myths exist about a united Ireland. I believe the biggest one is the alleged cost it will be to the Twenty-six Counties.”
“I always wonder why this was even cited as an issue because it is exactly what already happens to pension recipients in Spain, France, Ireland and wherever a retired British worker resides. The truth is that even if the economic case was more challenging than it is, Irish unity would still be the right thing to do.”
“It has already been made clear that a reunited Ireland would see the North automatically return to EU membership, creating enormous opportunities for growth across the entire island.”
“In doing the right thing, we also create a stronger economy and a better future for generations to come. Then it is not simply good economics, it is the fulfilment of our national potential. When I came across to the Chamber today I walked through the hall and I looked at the Proclamation again.”
“Molaim mo chomrádaí, an Teachta Aengus Ó Snodaigh, as an rún seo. An Teachta Ó Snodaigh has done Trojan work for the arts community for many years, and I am sure we have plenty more years to look forward to. Ireland is well-known around the globe for its music, arts and literature.”
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“However, that does not mean that we should just ram this Bill through without proper safeguards in place, as without necessary scrutiny and amendments the Government is doomed to repeat the mistakes of the past. We need proper transparent planning and full accountability on the delivery of grid infrastructure to ensure we are achieving housing targets and meeting our renewable energy ambition. These are the critical projects that we need immediately to ensure our future. Instead, however, the Government has prioritised the building of data centres, which are devouring our grid capacity and directly impacting our ability to build homes. Data centres now consume over a quarter of our energy demand, according to the CSO.”
“The current state of our country's grid and infrastructure more broadly has been a direct result of years of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael neglect. Decades of under-resourcing, bad planning and mismanagement by successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments have left us in the mess we are in now, with the crises in housing, education and health among a slew of others. Our grid infrastructure is the energy giver to our economy. It is the lifeblood of our country and it has not been recognised as such by this Government. I welcome that after many long years of neglect, it now recognises its importance and the role it plays in the everyday operation and future development of the State.”
“We must rise to the moment and bring our people from the North, South, east and west home, not just as two peoples, but as one nation - Ireland, Thirty-two Counties, united and free.”
“There is only silence, hesitation and a complete lack of leadership on what will be the defining question of our time. A united Ireland will not fall from the sky. We must build it with the same courage of our heroes past. We must build it through our democratic institutions while establishing an all-Ireland citizens' assembly to allow for careful planning. We must build it by engaging with Northern nationalists and unionists about the future of Ireland with the same courage of those who promoted peace on our island almost 30 years ago for the Good Friday Agreement. Irish unity is not a dream. It is the democratic right of the people of Ireland. We must stop waiting for the right time and make it the right time now because it is the right time now.”
“There comes a time in the march of a nation when it has to take the next step. That time is now. Irish unity is not just a distant aspiration. Deputy McDonald was right - the conversation has begun already among people of all ages. Uniting Ireland was brought up with me today when I met fifth and sixth-year students from Naas Community College on their visit to the Oireachtas - an chéad ghlúin eile. It is not just the next generation, but on the doorsteps of the campaign, it is coming up again and again. It is a presidential campaign where Irish citizens in the North are, unfortunately, denied their right to cast their vote for their President. Irish unity is clearly on the agenda, yet we see no action from the Government.”
“The Citizens' Assembly on Biodiversity Loss produced its final report in April 2023, with over 59 agreed-on recommendations for the Government to action. None of them have been implemented. The assembly also found that successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have failed to take biodiversity seriously and have failed to nurture our natural ecosystems, which explains the crisis we are in now. It is essential, then, that we move to immediately address concerns when it comes to EPA licensing. We must streamline the process by introducing timeframes and addressing the delays. We must ensure speedy investment in critical infrastructure that is green, clean and essential in tackling the cost of living and the climate crisis we face. Mar a deireann an seanfhocal, éist le fuaim na habhann agus gheobhaidh tú breac.”
“The recent report on the state of Europe's environment is a damning indictment of this Government's treatment of Ireland's natural beauty. Some 85% of our protected habitats and almost one third of protected species of flora and fauna have an unfavourable status, according to the report. Half of native plant species are in decline and more than 50 bird species are of high conservation concern. If that report, published the other day, were a parent-teacher meeting, the parent would have gone home very disheartened. "Poor" was the overall message of the report card. We are in the midst of a climate and biodiversity crisis and the Government has done nothing to seriously address the concerns we face.”
“What is worse, the Government has prioritised data centres for grid connections instead of new houses that are urgently needed to tackle the worst ongoing housing crisis in all of Europe. The first-come-first-served policy is not just insane; it is actually heartless when we have over 5,000 children in homeless accommodation. The delays in EPA licensing in other sectors have been highlighted as another step in the process which is hampering efforts to develop renewable energy and bring down energy prices. Reforms are urgently needed to address these delays. However, these reforms should not be used as a smokescreen to bypass meaningful public participation in environmental processes, nor should they seek to weaken environmental safeguards already in place.”
“Households are crippled by sky-high bills because not only does the Government lack the political will and ambition to build renewable infrastructure, but it has also created a system full of bottlenecks and bureaucracy and a lack of resourcing. Ordinary workers and families are being fleeced as this Government continues to make life harder for them by removing badly needed energy credits that they need to keep their heads above water. Over 300,000 families are in arrears as of July of this year. That figure will only rise now under the watch of this Government, especially with the winter coming in and the cold nights ahead. Our grid capacity has also come under serious pressure, with an urgent need for investment.”
“Decades of inaction, mismanagement and a lack of ambition from successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael governments have caused Ireland's critical infrastructural deficits to develop into a full-blown crisis across multiple sectors. An Teachta Daly referred to the motion that Sinn Féin brought forward last week and the snail's pace at which the Government has rolled out the transition to renewable energy. On this, we are way behind our European colleagues. While countries like Scotland, Denmark and Portugal have seriously invested in their renewable infrastructure, we have failed to address the need to build clean, green energy infrastructure. Such infrastructure would help us to meet our climate goals and reduce our reliance on imported energy from abroad. Because of this delay, Ireland has the highest energy bills in all of Europe.”
“I raise the case of Rebecca from Kildare. Twelve years ago following treatment for cervical cancer, Rebecca experienced early medical menopause. Women with cancer in remission are unable to use traditional hormone replacement therapy, HRT, but thankfully, a new drug for cancer survivors by the name of Veozah has been developed. This drug would be a game-changer for young women like Rebecca. However, it is not available under the new HRT scheme and it costs €75 per month. This is a cost that, unfortunately, Rebecca and other women cannot afford. Will due consideration be given to adding Veozah to the HRT scheme to make it accessible to all cancer survivors who need it, not only those who can afford it?”
“In Straffan in my constituency of Kildare North, they have been dealing with near monthly power outages for the past two years. Last month in Kilcock, people were left without electricity intermittently for a couple of days, with no warning. Only last week, my home town of Maynooth had similar. How can the Government expect people to pay more to energy providers when the providers cannot even keep the lights on for them? We in Sinn Féin want to end the rip-off once and for all, tackle profiteering and bring prices down. I urge the Government to reinstate the electricity credits in the budget and help alleviate fuel poverty for hundreds of thousands of households this year.”
“Not only has the Government done nothing to intervene but it has also ignored the pushback and Sinn Féin's proposals to get prices under control. Sinn Féin wants an end to the rip-off once and for all. We want the Government to empower the regulator to rein in the energy companies and their profiteering and to change its approach to network charges and PSO levies. We have asked it to reduce the unfair burden placed on households and ensure data centres pay their fair share. All of this, the Government has ignored. Data centres are putting a strain on the grid with their massive energy consumption - now increased with AI - and increasing demand, causing increased energy bills for households. The quality of the service is also deteriorating.”
“In the past few weeks, we have all heard the crushing news that electricity providers are increasing prices by significant amounts this year, but there has been no intervention by the Government to protect those forced to pay the highest prices in Europe. SSE Airtricity will increase bills by 9.5%, Energia by as much as 12% and Bord Gáis by a whopping 13.5%. Hundreds of thousands of people across the State are already in arrears on their bills. Now energy customers face even bigger bills. We are facing into another winter. We can all feel the cold and are putting the heat on these past few nights, but some people will have to choose between eating and heating. All the while the energy companies are raking in profits.”
“An adequate redress scheme is also imperative, one that properly reflects the damage done to families up and down the country. Survivors must be at the heart of every step and their voices and their healing must come first.”
“It must also be noted that those who have been involved in physical abuse have been omitted from this investigation, which is deeply concerning, considering those who endured such harrowing experiences. It was not just corporal punishment. Some of them were, as an Teachta Conway-Walsh noted, tortured. It is imperative that the Minister explain this and reconsider those who have been through physical abuse in these schools and are not being included in this investigation. If we are going to ensure that this investigation truly is centred on those who have experienced abuse, those who have been through physical abuse must be included. The commission must expose not just the abuse, but the cover-ups. We cannot have a repeat of previous lengthy legal proceedings in which some survivors were totally ignored.”
“I welcome the establishment of a commission of investigation into historical sexual abuse in schools. I am thinking first and foremost of the survivors, some of whom are here in the Public Gallery today, and those who were abused as children in the very places they should have been safe, namely, our schools and our State institutions. This has been a long time coming. The findings of the commission must acknowledge the harm done to thousands of children across the State. Their voices and their healing must be to the forefront of the investigation. Let us be honest - we have only got here because those brave survivors refused to stay silent. They carried unimaginable pain, so it must be acknowledged that survivors have been waiting a long, long time for this commission.”
“I urge the Minister, Deputy McEntee, to escalate this with her Department to ensure that the specialist units are served and delivered as a priority. We have to make sure that St. Farnan's will be safely able to deliver the education our secondary school children need in north Kildare.”
“St. Farnan's Post Primary School in Prosperous. It has been oversubscribed for three years, putting serious pressure on the delivery of secondary school education in Prosperous and the surrounding area. Temporary accommodation, including a science lab, woodwork room, two classrooms, toilets and an office were coming up from a school in Monasterevin but that is only going to meet the needs of this coming year. This project has been in preplanning with the devolved section since last October and the delay is extremely frustrating. The school had been expecting to get this accommodation at the end of August but it has now been told that will not be until November. Without progress, the 1,000-pupil school is going to be facing the same crisis again and again.”
“While I have spoken only about women, and men suffer from domestic violence as well, I always say that if we sort it out for the women, they will make sure it is sorted out for everyone. Ní saoirse go saoirse na mban.”
“She recalled in the Seanad and again on the RTÉ “Behind the Story” podcast how her stepfather had tried to kill her mother, how her mother had bravely risked her life to protect her children from him and how Nicole did all she could to shield her brother from the wrath of domestic abuse and violence. Nicole has come out the other end and is now shaping the future of our country on domestic abuse legislation in the Seanad. Her case is an example of how this can impact on our children and why it is important that the representation we have in these two Houses is representative of our population. As Nicole said, there are no child witnesses to domestic abuse, only sufferers.”
“I am glad the Minister visited Teach Tearmainn in Kildare town. Although it is a fantastic refuge, it is overstretched. While I know nine counties do not have any refuge, Kildare is a two-constituency county with nine TDs. It has a big population. We need more than one refuge. The women of Kildare deserve better. They do not want our sympathy. Rather, they want services to be resourced, a commitment and a sense of urgency. Last week, like many others, I listened to the harrowing experience my party comrade Seanadóir Nicole Ryan suffered when she was a child.”
“In 2022, 10,000 protection orders were issued against the perpetrators of domestic violence, of which 5,000 were breached, yet only 500 abusers were convicted. This is a system that does not protect women. It is not working and it degrades us all. When a woman takes the brave step to escape, she faces a new injustice, the lack of emergency accommodation and support services. Women and children in crisis are being turned away and forced to stay in dangerous situations or travel long distances to access refuges. We need more refuge places. I know the Minister has acknowledged that, and I also acknowledge the work of his predecessor, the Minister, Deputy McEntee. We need funding for front-line services. We need a justice system that protects survivors, not one that re-traumatises them.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important debate. Cases of domestic, sexual and gender-based violence are at a crisis point. Women's Aid was founded in 1974 and it has been instrumental in responding to the needs of women over the past 50 years. Having begun as a small service, it has grown into a national organisation that directly supports thousands of women throughout the country. I have directed women to it and it gives great advice around planning how to leave an abusive relationship because that is often the most dangerous time for women. Shamefully, however, its 50th anniversary was marked by the highest recorded level of disclosures of domestic abuse in its history, with nearly 46,000 cases. These are only the cases that are officially disclosed.”
“The programme for Government promised fair and equal access to further and higher education, regardless of socioeconomic status, to ease the financial burden on students and families at the start of each academic year. Not only did this Government completely mislead students before the election about housing figures and student accommodation, but it is now continuing to mislead them after the election. As for the Minister's partners in the Government, we could not turn on the radio last week without hearing a Fine Gael backbencher pretending that they care about student fees. Where are they tonight? They are certainly not here or willing to go on the Dáil record. This is very much a creation of their one-off cost-of-living measures. I would like to say, "We see you, Fine Gael", but I clearly cannot.”
“She told me of the issues students are facing in housing, public transport and mental health, all of which need to be addressed urgently. On top of that, they now face the uncertainty of whether they will be charged €2,000 or €3,000. We still do not know. Students need that certainty now and it is sorely lacking from this Government. Families are already at their wits' end with the cost-of-living crisis that is affecting their pockets. They are now potentially being asked to find an extra €1,000 come September. This will impact on more than 15,000 students in Maynooth this year. For many, it will decide whether they can afford to go to college. It is completely unacceptable.”
“I too welcome the students to the Dáil. I listened to the Minister's speech and, like students up and down the country, I am none the wiser. Students have been left under serious pressure over the course of the past few weeks and their college term has not even begun yet. They are meant to be enjoying their summer holidays and getting a summer job. While many students and their families are stressing over the summer to try to secure whatever is left of the extortionately priced student accommodation, they now face the prospect of having to come up with an extra €1,000. Today, I spoke to Maeve Farrell, who is here, the newly elected president of Maynooth Students' Union, about the impact this is having on students who will be attending Maynooth University.”
“The Government's duty is to protect our heritage where Irish rebels once bled, not to commodify their sacrifice. Let us stand as the 1916 leaders once did, not for profit, but for purpose and pride. This is more than history. This is our identity. This is Ireland and it is not for sale. The souls of our patriot dead are not for sale either.”
“This is the same Government that in 2020 sought to commemorate the Black and Tans. It is the same Government that, to our shame, has done nothing to unite Ireland and nothing to advance the 32-county republic that was declared in 1916. A Fine Gael TD spoke last week about making the GPO a place filled with people again. It was not really people he wanted to fill it with, but consumers. A constituent said to me last week that by the time this Government is done desecrating the sanctity of the hallowed grounds, the next commemoration of 1916 will see our Proclamation read in front of a Costa Coffee. Let me remind this Government that it is a steward, not auctioneer. It inherited the promised Republic not built on property deals, but on principles.”
“When Pádraig Pearse stood outside the GPO on Easter 1916 to read the Proclamation, he read it not in the hopes that he might one day live to see it, but in the knowledge that the generations of republicans to follow would. The Proclamation of the Republic is not just a script to put in a picture frame. It is the inspiration of a republic that found a voice in our Proclamation. It was a document so ahead of its time that it still remains an aspiration to all of us who love our country today, the sacred promise of a 32-county republic. Not only has the Government failed to live up to the spirit of the Republic declared in 1916, but it also now seeks to destroy its legacy by commercialising our sacred site and turning our rebel quarters and our national shrine into a shopping centre and a tourist gimmick. Should we be surprised?”
“As far it is concerned, rents and house prices are not high enough. We need real action immediately to protect renters by freezing and cutting rent in the reintroduction of no-fault evictions. We need a united front like the one we had outside Leinster House today to stand up to this Government, fight back, demand the dignity our citizens deserve and demand change immediately.”
“I know of many who will not go to the homeless services because the conditions are so horrendous in some of those shelters. There is no dignity there. I had a retired teacher in my office a couple of weeks ago who was crying because she had just become homeless. She is sleeping in her car because she refuses to go to the hostels offered by Kildare County Council. There is no dignity for people and the Government does not seem to care about them. She feels she has no other option than to sleep in her car as it is a better alternative to what the State provides to its most vulnerable. This is not the only reason people are sleeping in their cars. A few months ago, people were sleeping in their cars to try to see a house, a new build in Leixlip. This has only gotten worse under the Government's watch.”
“For years, we have known about the state of the housing crisis and calling it an emergency. The President, Uachtarán na hÉireann, called it disastrous when he came to my constituency in north Kildare. Record level house prices, rising rents and missing its own building targets year after year is the Government's record on housing as well as misleading people in the last general election with made up figures. In my constituency of north Kildare, a second-hand three-bedroom house is currently €500,000. How is any nurse, teacher, bus driver or retail worker expected to afford that? The Government is locking ordinary working people out of housing and it has been going that way for too long. Those who are locked out of housing face the desperate conditions of the homeless services.”
“This is an opportunity to right a wrong that is in the Constitution if the Minister of State says that this Bill is unconstitutional. I ask him to listen to the women he works with and the women in his life. Blocking this Bill is just more of the power imbalance. As an Teachta Coppinger said, the notes of the therapist are actually hearsay. This is third-person or third-party information. It should not be before any court of law.”
“An Teachta Coppinger has said that she would fight to the death for the right to a fair trial but that fairness does not mean we turn a blind eye to power imbalance. It does not mean survivors should have to choose between seeking help and seeking justice. We can and we must protect both justice and dignity. We need a judicial system that works for survivors, not against them. I know the Minister is working on his own Bill but he should be prepared to listen to an Teachta Coppinger and to the witnesses that Deputy Carthy has said he intends to invite to the justice committee for pre-legislative scrutiny. The purpose of this Bill is to right a wrong. When I was outside the Dáil earlier, one of the survivors said that when the Constitution was written they were not thinking about women at all.”
“Now is the time for us, as their legislators and representatives in the Dáil, to support them. I acknowledge that Deputy Carthy, as Chair of the justice committee, has made it clear that Sinn Féin wants the voices of victims and campaigners to be at the heart of the pre-legislative scrutiny process. This Bill can go through. It may not happen in a year, even without the one-year delay. It will take at least that for the hearings and the pre-legislative scrutiny. The Minister can have his team of lawyers working on his own Bill if that is what he wants. It is imperative that this Bill protects victims of rape and sexual assault from further trauma during the legal process to secure justice for those affected. Counselling is a place for healing. These sessions must not be used as courtroom ammunition. The right to a fair trial is critical.”
“The Minister of State would be surprised if he knew how many women he knows have suffered some kind of a sexual attack in various degrees but he does not know that about them. It is absolutely shameful to think that people would then be told that their trust will be completely betrayed. Nobody should have any access to those sessions and to those notes. The idea that the perpetrator can read someone's personal private counselling notes, where they talk about the trauma they have endured, is extremely unsettling for many women. We have heard how so many of them believe that this means reliving what they have already suffered through. The women who are here tonight have taken the brave decision to wave their anonymity specifically to campaign for change in relation to the disclosure of counselling notes, and I commend them.”
“Women are mainly the empaths and the carers in society. We are mammies, sisters and daughters. We are always thinking about how the attack that happened to us affected our families and our friends. It is unbelievable to have a place where you do not have to worry about what other people think, and where you are not judged. When it is just you and the counsellor, you can be your complete and honest self. You know that how you are expressing yourself might upset people you love, so the therapy session is a place where you are fully safe, where your guard can come down and where you do not have to worry. It is the first time that many women feel the worries of the world are off their shoulders.”
“The Minister of State should think about that. After surviving something so deeply personal, so violating, they are being told to hand over the most vulnerable parts of themselves - their inner thoughts and fears - again, and for what? To be doubted and humiliated and for those facts to be dissected again. Counselling and therapy is something that is very intimate and personal. It is supposed to be a safe place where people can communicate their anxieties, fears and hopes. In the context of someone having to endure the horrifying and traumatic experience of sexual assault, people feel this is the only place where they can be truly honest and candid about their experiences and feelings. When you are sitting there in the counselling room, the only person your therapist cares about is you. Most victims of sexual abuse are women.”
“Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom an Bille seo a mholadh don Teach. Gabhaim buíochas leis an Teachta Coppinger as ucht é a chur faoi bhráid na Dála. I would also like to welcome all of those in the Gallery who made the journey to Leinster House today to hear the debate on this very important legislation. I met a couple of people I know outside, including a constituent who is a therapist and a proud advocate and member of Therapists Against Harm. I also met a survivor of sexual assault who is here with her mam. All three of them are women. All those women and their comrades are very welcome to their Dáil here tonight. Right now, the situation in our courts is that survivors of rape and sexual abuse can have their private counselling notes dragged into court and read by the very person who sexually abused them.”
“It was very moving to listen to Deputy Mac Lochlainn talking about the fishermen and fisherwomen of County Donegal and how this way of life has been passed down through families. Marine protected areas and a Common Fisheries Policy will lead to economic viability for Ireland's fishing communities and to a healthier environment for us all.”
“Since Britain left the European Union, there has been little emphasis on cross-Border initiative when it comes to ecosystems and biodiversity loss. We and the people in the North are dependent on this Government to lead the way in ensuring marine protection right across the Thirty-two Counties on our island. The deterioration of our seas and the destruction of their biodiversity is also impacting the health of our rivers and the work of our fishermen and fisherwomen. Biodiversity loss will lead to job losses, as was clear in Oughterard, in our tourism industry. We must be clear about this. Not only will jobs be lost, but also lost will be a way of life for our fishers.”
“This lake has been designated by the NPWS as a protected area for nature conservation yet nothing has been done by the Government to address the ecological disaster there 40 years after the issue was first identified. Representatives of Aquafact, an environmental monitoring group, were also before the committee yesterday. They told us that in Oughterard beside Lough Corrib in County Galway there used to be four hotels full of fishermen and fisherwomen to cater for the mayfly season. Only one of those hotels is currently in operation as the mayfly has died out on the Corrib. Other issues extend to the Six Counties. It is imperative as part of our planning for a united Ireland that this Government acts immediately to address the biodiversity crisis across the island.”
“This provides us with an opportunity to reverse biodiversity loss and to strengthen the ecosystems of our oceans. This is why I am calling on the Government to fully implement the Common Fisheries Policy, which is critical for ensuring our seas remain productive and resilient. To not do so would be detrimental to every one of us. The impact of the poor state of our waters is evident today. Only yesterday, representatives from Wexford County Council and the National Parks and Wildlife Service, NPWS, were before the climate committee due to the ecological disaster unfolding in one of Ireland's largest salt-water lagoons in Lady's Island Lake. Wexford County Council agreed this was a problem it has known about for years but has not been given any help from the Government to address.”
“Under Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments, half our rivers and lakes are in poor or bad ecological states according to the CSO. My county of Kildare has the lowest proportion of rivers in good or high ecological status. The River Rye in Leixlip is one that has been in poor ecological status and this is a river best known for its salmon spawning. There has been a gross loss of fish and other aquatic life because of pollution. There have been numerous fish kills even since I was elected to the Dáil. There is also the lack of protection from the Government through maritime legislation. Ireland has committed to designating 30% of its waters as marine protected areas by 2030, of which at least 10% must be strictly protected areas to ensure the greatest benefit to nature, climate and coastal communities and sustainability.”
“Comhghairdeas leis an Aire Stáit as a ról nua agus go n-éirí leis sa phost. It is imperative, as ever, that we should consider the future of our seas, our environment, our oceans and our rivers and the biodiversity that lives in them. Last week, the Taoiseach attended the UN Ocean Conference in Nice in France. Its theme was accelerating action and mobilising all actions to conserve and sustainably use the ocean. After the event, the Taoiseach said he wants Ireland to be a leading nation in global maritime policy. Well, change comes from within and if the Taoiseach had spent any of his 30 plus years as a public representative engaging meaningfully with the climate, biodiversity and fisheries crises Ireland is currently facing, we might not be in such a state. Here are the facts.”
“This week, the local community in Celbridge gathered again outside the gates of Castletown House to protest the brazen attempts by the OPW to open Lime Avenue without local consultation. The community has been clear and consistent in its demands - the domain has to be reunited, and safe and secure access must be granted to vulnerable pedestrians on Lime Avenue. To their disgust, protocols were broken this week and a vehicle went flying down Lime Avenue yesterday with no escort. I believe they are trying it again today. A car park in the Kildare Innovation Campus, KIC, is a solution. On what date will the application for planning permission be submitted? The CEO of KIC approved it on 22 May. Essential vehicles must also be allowed to use that car park because it was agricultural land and it already took heavy agricultural vehicles.”
“She feels she has been left with no other option but to go on hunger strike to get the Government to do more. What is the Minister at when ordinary people have to go to extremes because of his moderation, because of his cowardice? The Government should stop shaming itself and stop shaming Ireland. Support our Israeli war bonds Bill, pass the occupied territories Bill, pass Deputy John Brady's Illegal Israeli Settlements Divestment Bill and stop shaming us all.”
“Since when should Ireland take the word of America, the state that is supplying Israel with the bombs that are burning children alive in Gaza? I was in Ennis courthouse this morning to lend my support to a constituent, Padraic Grogan, as his case was being heard for peaceful protest at Shannon Airport. Padraic was in Ennis courthouse today doing the job of this Government and ensuring that no weapons are passing through Shannon Airport. As he said today, everything else is just noise. Twenty months into a genocide, the Government is now morally and legally complicit. Padraic put himself between those munitions and the innocent children of Gaza because his Government is not prepared to. A brave young woman, who has already been thrown out even though she was silent, is Sophie Ní Choimín from Clane in my constituency, Kildare North.”
“It is not right that they were asked to leave. I am disgusted but not a bit surprised that the Government has once again decided not to support our Private Members’ Bill. The Irish people have been lied to by the Government, which pretends to be supportive of Palestine when all it has done to date is recognise Palestine as a state - the best boys in the class but it is a very bad class. Sinn Féin is offering a real and credible action that can stop Irish complicity in this genocide but the Government has refused. It allows trade with Israel every single day and it was worth €4 billion to the Israeli war machine last year. It is disgusting and shameful. I asked on Questions on Promised Legislation a few weeks ago why we were not checking aeroplanes that pass through Shannon Airport with munitions. My question was dismissed.”