Rose Conway-Walsh
Mayo · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“The very open nature of the Irish economy and over-reliance on FDI and a small number of large US firms exposes an economic vulnerability that covers an underlying deficit of €13 billion. With an all-island approach, we can tackle that properly.”
“An all-island development agency is critical to this prosperity. Competing for investment from multinational companies, based on five interlinked pillars of growth, transformational regions, sustainability and impact as promoted by the IDA is necessary to compete on a global stage.”
“I would need much longer than three minutes to discuss the fiscal implications of a united Ireland, such is the depth and breadth of the work already done. I commend all of those who have done it. Leaving all politics aside, the economic benefits of reunification present unprecedented opportunities for sustainable growth.”
“This morning, workers at Aer Lingus woke up to the devastating news that up to 500 jobs will be cut at the airline, impacting both staff at head office and flight crews. By all measures, Aer Lingus is a profitable company, reporting operating profits of €282 million in 2025. Its parent company, IAG, has operating profits of €5 billion.”
“We need to encourage student mobility across the island. I ask the shared island unit to intervene to provide funding for students from here going to Queen's University and Ulster University. Regarding the data, the NI Executive should work with the ONS, HMRC and the NISRA to improve the data on tax receipts in the North.”
“Will the Government meet representatives of the unions, the Irish Air Line Pilots Association, IALPA, Fórsa and other unions, to ensure that impacted workers receive full and fair redundancy packages and that we have full transparency, while also committing to wider statutory redundancy reforms?”
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“The introduction of the living wage in 2026 has been shelved until 2029 at the earliest. The introduction of pension auto-enrolment has been paused indefinitely. The increases in statutory sick leave entitlements have been delayed as well. Delay follows delay. The Minister of State did not delay in increasing the number of junior Ministers and their €45,000 top-up payments. That was a priority for this Government, which continues to argue against the living wage. I ask again about the EU adequate minimum wage directive. This is important legislation. It is probably one of the most important pieces of legislation to have emerged in a long time. Government speakers may assert that this directive negates the need for trade union recognition, but there has been no action from the Government on transposing it into domestic law.”
“The Bill will also reduce the threshold for the number of employees required before a union can apply for recognition from 21 to ten. Sinn Féin has long stood in support of trade union recognition and the fundamental right of workers to be represented by their unions. I acknowledge the work done by my colleague Deputy Louise O'Reilly in this space with regard to support and progression of trade unions and trade union representation. Our position is rooted in the core belief that every worker deserves fair representation, dignity and the ability to collectively bargain for better wages, conditions and rights. Unfortunately, the Government is at odds with our progressive stance. Since coming into power, this Government has attempted to renege on workers' rights commitments made during the general election campaign.”
“I thank the Deputies for bringing forward this important Bill. The aims of the Bill are honourable, and that is why Sinn Féin is happy to support it being progressed to Committee Stage. The establishment of a clear legal process for trade union recognition from employers if at least 20% of employees are members would be a very positive step for workers' rights in this State. The North is forging ahead on workers' rights issues in view of the introduction of the good jobs Bill by economy Minister, Dr. Caoimhe Archibald. Under that legislation, unions will have enhanced rights to request workplace access for recruitment and members' engagement. This will open up collective bargaining across a wider range of sectors.”
“I do not care, and I know the same goes for Deputies Mac Lochlainn, Doherty and others, whether it is the middle of the night, the weekend, whenever we have to get this legislation through, we have to get it through in days. We cannot continue to wait for weeks and months.”
“The Minister of State said that the Government understands that this can be a difficult and challenging time for homeowners. I am sorry but he does not and the Government does not. I am glad the Minister went to Donegal but my god you would have to be hiding under a rock for the past 15 years to not know that this was one of the biggest scandals that has ever faced this country. The Minister of State has not answered the question. When is the legislation going to be amended? I am dealing with families who are really suffering. They are at a loss of tens of thousands of euros. I know a couple who are getting married later in the summer and they want answers. We have said in opposition that we will facilitate - day or night - the legislation to go through.”
“Where is the scheme for the council houses and approved housing bodies, AHBs? Many questions need to be urgently answered regarding this scheme.”
“If there is to be any fairness in this whole scandal, the Government must provide retrospective redress, must end the damage threshold being used as a barrier to the scheme and must amend the scheme to allow impacted homeowners to access upfront payments to commence remediation works. The Government must allow the flexibility and timelines from start to completion. It must make the increase in the cap for the defective blocks scheme open to all affected homeowners, not just the new entrants. It must ensure that those responsible for the manufacturing of defective blocks are held to account, that a full public inquiry is held into the defective material and how it was sold into the housing markets and that the industry must contribute to the overall cost of the remediating of defective properties.”
“How much more do homeowners impacted by the defective blocks in Mayo and other counties have to endure, whether they have partially completed their rebuilds or whether they are trying to get into the scheme? At every age homeowners are given assurances that they would not be disadvantaged by the timing that they entered the schemes. Now homeowners, who are in the middle of rebuilding their homes and lives, have been told that they have to wait for legislation to be prepared and passed to enable them to avail of the higher rates. It is utterly disgraceful that these homeowners are being treated like this. It is clear that the scheme is not fit for purpose and in many cases only provides for 70% or less of the costs of remediation. Too many of the impacted homeowners are locked out of the scheme because of affordability.”
“We are aware that EU companies spend significantly less on research and development than their US counterparts. I also want to raise with the Minister the need for the provision of a further education and training centre in Ballyhaunis, County Mayo. I have been asking for this for years. I raised it a number of times with the previous Minister and was told that SOLAS would look into it. Ballyhaunis is regularly cited as the most multicultural town in Ireland. It needs a facility like this as an economic driver. I urge the Minister to engage with the local community there to ensure the training centre is provided.”
“I have asked the Government many times to unlock the National Training Fund to enable businesses to upskill so they can remain competitive and I am glad to see this is being done now. A lot of what is being committed to here will be judged on whether it is delivered. We got fine words before in this space and it has not amounted to what it needs to amount to. If we are to stay ahead of the curve in our competitiveness and in many other aspects, and if we are to deal with a huge and growing inequality gap, there must be delivery on these things. I do not believe it is fair that businesses are contributing to the National Training Fund and building it up when they cannot get access to it. It is important that this be made accessible to businesses and for training, and also for what they have identified the need is.”
“This needs to be rectified, not only for the good of the individuals and their families but for the good of the economy in these strained global economic times. The higher education sector provides the framework for research development with many innovations resulting in the creation of new industries, businesses and jobs streaming from the sector. Over recent weeks, with my colleague, Senator Conor Murphy, I have met with representatives from Meta, Google, Medtronic, Engineers Ireland, and Skillnet Ireland. At each of these meetings the need for increased investment to harness the opportunities provided by AI was discussed. The creation of new innovative companies and the ability to scale them is crucial for closing Europe's innovation and productivity gap, as highlighted recently in the Draghi report.”
“Higher and further education plays a pivotal role in driving economic development, as we all know. The link between the financial circumstances of children and young people can be statistically verified, with those growing up with good financial circumstances more likely to have a third level education compared to those who experience bad financial circumstances in childhood. This is 64.1% compared to 38.7%. Therefore, we can say there is a direct correlation between government intervention and the outcomes. At this time there are too many children who do not reach their full educational potential. The majority of these children are from less well-off backgrounds. Their parents cannot afford the grinds that have become a shadow education system in this State. We have to create a level playing field.”
“Obviously, that includes the western rail corridor, and the connectivity to the airport is hugely important. I know the Minister of State, Deputy Canney, is very familiar with that. I know the Government cannot dictate what flights go where, but will the Minister consider, when talking to Aer Lingus, whether it would be possible for a flight from Heathrow to the west of Ireland to be scheduled on Friday evenings and going back late on Sunday evenings to facilitate all the workers who are commuting to and from London and the region?”
“I want to talk to the Minister about the importance of Ireland West Airport, or Knock Airport. I am sure that will be no surprise to the Minister or Ministers of State. I raise the importance of it in terms of the development of the Atlantic economic corridor, particularly the SDZ scheme there. If that is built to its full capacity, it could deliver more than 95,000 sq. m of commercial business and enterprise space and create 4,200 jobs. In the whole geopolitical climate and challenges we are facing at the moment, it is critical that this is done sooner rather than later. I welcome the fact that a project manager was appointed last year, but I ask the Minister for a specific timeline. How does the Government aim to fast-track that development zone in order to enable the further development in the region?”
“Shame on Israel and shame on this Government for failing to enact the occupied territories Bill as it had promised to do - another broken election promise. We wrote before to stop Israel's access to the Horizon project from happening. It is not right that Israel can access the EU Horizon project to do what it is doing: genocide.”
“During the tumultuous period, the EU supported Ireland, protecting both our peace agreement and economic interests. In April 2017, the EU asserted that in the event of reunification, the North will automatically re-enter membership of the European Union. This is simple but profoundly important. It guarantees in economic terms that there will be no question about the status of the North. I hope that in the event of Irish unity, direct support will continue to come from the EU. It is important to say that while we recognise and commend the positive aspects, our endorsement cannot be unequivocal. The EU has been found severely wanting in response to the ongoing slaughter in Palestine and the disgraceful human rights and international law violations Israel is perpetrating at this time.”
“I also know how much the farmers of Ireland rely on access to the EU Common Agricultural Policy, but that is not to say the good agricultural and environmental conditions, GAEC, or the way that European law is transposed here, is always correct. As legislators and parliamentarians, we must always question that and get the best for the people who we are here to serve. For Irish businesses, access to the EU market has brought an economic dividend and employment was created. When Ireland was negotiating its peace agreement in 1998, the EU supported and underpinned the fledgling peace process with targeted financial support which has made a real impact, particularly in the North. Following Brexit, despite voting to remain, the North was removed from the European Union.”
“Today, as we mark Europe Day, it is fitting that we reflect on the huge positives that the European Union has brought to our island. I see every day, first hand, how Ireland has benefited from membership of the EU through infrastructure projects. That is not to say that we should not have critical analysis. We would not be doing our job properly if we benignly accepted every aspect of it. We need to be acutely aware of what European law is during its transposition to this country. We need to have a grown-up conversation about Europe, its benefits and also the democratic deficit across the 500 million people who want to engage with the EU but want to do it in a way which does not leave people behind.”
“It is one of the most significant legislative measures that has come before us on union recognition. I wish to draw the Minister's attention to the “good jobs” Bill, which has been introduced by the economy Minister in the Northern Ireland Executive, Caoimhe Archibald. That Bill aims to introduce automatic trade union recognition in workplaces with ten or more employees.”
“I have met with representatives of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, ICTU, on a number of occasions. Earlier this week, my colleague Deputy Guirke and I, along with ICTU and other representatives, participated in a panel discussion hosted by the Think-tank for Action on Social Change, TASC. The conference focused on the EU's adequate minimum wage directive, a critical directive for the Irish trade union movement. It is all about the State taking on an active role in the promotion of collective bargaining. I ask the Minister to ensure that the directive is implemented here and that the action plan is produced as quickly as possible. I will follow up on this at committee meetings. I implore the Minister to continue working on the action plan for the implementation of the directive.”
“What is happening before our eyes is a race to the bottom dressed up as fiscal prudence. Low-paid workers are faced with a cost-of-living crisis and falling living standards. Workers have never worked so hard and never struggled so much. The Government's housing policies have resulted in ordinary workers and families being priced out of the market. The number of minimum wage jobs advertised last year was double what it was in 2023. What hope does a young couple working for minimum wage have of ever owning their own home? These are people who get up early every morning, sometimes seven mornings a week. They are people who strive to make life better for themselves and their families. Irish trade unions have consistently been champions of the working class.”
“There has been a reversal on introducing the living wage, paid sick leave entitlements, increasing the minimum annual remuneration for employment permits and automatic enrolment for pensions. We spoke about that in depth earlier today. All of these measures the Minister signed up to have now been put on the back burner. That is not acceptable to me and my party and it is not acceptable to unions and workers. When will those initiatives be progressed? The Government will say that global trading uncertainty means we must pause the measures. I absolutely do not agree. The Government says it is being sensible and responsible. In fact, what it is doing is the height of irresponsibility. One cannot but wonder whether these row-backs are ideologically driven. Denying a worker an adequate living wage will hardly solve the global economic turmoil.”
“I am also mindful on this International Workers' Day of the workers in Intel, about whom we spoke earlier, and also the workers in Carelon in Limerick. I am deeply concerned about what is happening there. I again ask the Minister to engage with the company in Limerick. Its closure would have a devastating impact not only on the workers and their families but also the wider Limerick area. On International Workers' Day, we take the opportunity to acknowledge the contribution workers make to the economy and our society. Since coming into office, the Minister has reneged on many undertakings that were previously given. I am really concerned that he is on the wrong pathway.”
“Today is a day to celebrate the workers of the world. There are two issues I want to raise initially, given the day that is in it. The first concerns the treatment of whistleblowers. Earlier today, we discussed the absolute horror of the Grace case. I acknowledge all whistleblowers and the service they have done to this country. I call for extra protection for whistleblowers. Many people I know who have come forward with goings on about which they were really concerned suffered a personal cost for doing so. That is just a fact and it is happening today and on many days. The Bill brought forward some time ago by my colleagues, Deputies Farrell and Buckley, sought to set a gold standard for whistleblowers. We really need to look at how we treat whistleblowers in this country and address the fact we do not protect them.”
“I welcome the opportunity to say a couple of words on the rural social scheme. I welcome the flexibility the Minister has introduced. I want him to look in particular at meals on wheels. Yesterday, Lorraine from Claremorris, Martina and Peter from Louisburgh and Deirdre from Castlebar were in Leinster House. One of the issues that were raised regarding the RSS was the need to allow two people to get onto the scheme rather than just the herd owner. It is vital. They find that they cannot continue their meals on wheels service without having some flexibility. They want generators as well. As the Minister knows, in Storm Éowyn they were a vital lifeline. If he will give them the flexibility under the RSS to meet the needs of particular rural areas and continue providing these vital services, it would be welcome.”
“It is okay centralising health services and we all need the centres of excellence in certain disciplines, but asking somebody, without any help, to get from Castlebar - never mind from Blacksod - to Galway is impossible. I want the Minister to examine transport, specifically transport from Mayo to Galway hospital.”
“I am glad this is being discussed in terms of rural poverty. The Minister will completely understand this. I commend Irish Rural Link on the great work it has done in Mayo. It needs to be resourced to do an awful lot more. I will give the Minister an example of a woman I spoke to in Castlebar the other day. She has an appointment in Galway hospital next week. All of her income and benefit for the week will be wiped out because she has to pay for that taxi. She cannot get public transport. We discussed the ins and outs of it, but she just cannot. That is all of her benefit for the week. This is how people are being plunged into poverty. What is she to do for her food, fuel and everything else for that week?”
“This matter needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. I am glad there has been a rowing back on it. It should not have happened in the first place. We recognise that businesses are struggling as it is. The turnaround needs to be immediate.”
“I am glad that the Department is seeing sense with this because it obviously needed to be addressed. We have been doing grants for long enough and should not be in a situation where these anomalies arise. It concerns me that the Minister of State says he is engaging with the Department of public expenditure, as that can take a long time. I heard it mentioned that we would have the appeals process by autumn but it needs to be much sooner than that. I would contrast this situation with that of businesses that are trying to deal with Revenue, in that there is an inflexibility, particularly where there has been an accumulation of what is owed to Revenue. There needs to be flexibility for businesses, particularly those caught in this trap. It is significant that businesses that are no longer in operation be considered as well.”
“Will the Minister of State examine their status with Enterprise Ireland in order that they can support a greater number of businesses? We need systems that support the models that are being used in businesses in the here and now in order to ensure the sustainability of businesses into the future. We have to have practical and pragmatic support and interventions for businesses.”
“We need to learn lessons from the design of a lot of these schemes. I recently met the Alliance for Insurance Reform. Its members are extremely concerned by the recommendations of the Judicial Council that awards be increased by 17%. Could the Minister of State confirm whether the Minister for Justice will enable the Dáil to discuss this? I also want to raise with the Minister of State the issue of Enterprise Ireland being precluded from working with businesses with fewer than ten employees. Many smaller businesses work on a contract basis and, therefore, work on a different model. Modern work practices mean that businesses often contract in services such as graphic design, photography or social media support. Such employees are not staff of businesses, nor do they want to be. They are freelance workers.”
“Across our cities, towns and villages, many in our constituency of Mayo, businesses have pulled down the shutters. Businesses are really struggling right now and there is much the Government can do that it is not doing.”
“I thank the Minister of State. When he speaks of simplicity and reducing regulation, I want him to look inside Government at the bureaucracy that is stopping businesses which desperately need support from accessing the supports that have been advertised. The increased cost of business, ICOB, and power up grants have been plagued with anomalies in their terms and conditions making it impossible for businesses to access the schemes. Will the cost of business forum, cited in the programme for Government, engage with business representatives to provide accessible schemes which would be of use to businesses? Rather than an over-concentration in terms of the remuneration of workers' rights, the Government should look in the other direction in terms of why businesses cannot access what has been announced for them.”
“Will the Minister provide an update on the cost of business forum, in particular why so many grants have not been drawn down by small and medium businesses at a time where they are struggling with costs in terms of VAT, rates - including water rates - energy costs, rent and refuse collection costs? The Minister's favourite word is "evidence". There is evidence that at the close of applications for his Department's power up grant in November last year, €12 million was left unclaimed by hospitality and retail businesses. Can he explain why that was the case?”
“In Dublin, approximately 7% of jobs advertised were for minimum wage workers. In Donegal, the figure was 20%. This means that in real terms, workers in Donegal and the west earn less. This obviously has a knock-on effect across the regional economy. The Government's failure to introduce a living wage leaves low-paid workers extremely vulnerable. There are many ways to support businesses but this is not one of them. We are in a race to the bottom here.”
“Going after workers in these sectors will not address our international competitiveness, nor will it help sectors on the front line to deal with the impact of tariffs. All it will do is leave ordinary workers worse off in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis. We have one of the highest rates of low pay in the EU, with one in five workers being low paid. This figure has remained relatively unchanged after decades of broken promises from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. Yesterday, the ESRI published research it undertook on behalf of the Low Pay Commission. The findings of this research show that the percentage of minimum wage jobs being advertised is growing. In 2024, 15% of all hourly paid job vacancies were for minimum-wage jobs. There is a huge variation in the incidence of minimum wage employment across the State.”
“The sectors that rely heavily on the minimum wage workers are, by and large, not exporters but rather trade domestically.”
“What I wanted was a firm commitment that the onslaught on ordinary workers would be ended. The Minister of State has not provided me with that. Workers on the minimum wage are looking forward to the living wage, as was committed to. When they hear, in the past week, a wage of €430,000 talked about for a housing tsar to replace the housing Minister, it just does not sit right with people who are in the midst of a cost-of-living crisis. The workers here did not cause the global uncertainty and they cannot be made scapegoats for Government failures. The Government cannot use the uncertainty about tariffs as an excuse to row back on promises to workers. Backtracking on the minimum wage commitments does not make economic sense.”
“The Government made commitments on introducing the living wage, on enhancing paid sick leave entitlements, on abolishing the subminimum rates of youth pay, on increasing the minimum annual remuneration for employment permits and on pension auto-enrolment. The Government has reneged on all of these progressive measures. I know the Minister will say that these are just delayed but the word used is "postponement". Without concrete timeframes, workers fear that "delay" really means "deny".”
“We can only create a sustainable economy and society by addressing the core issues, namely, our infrastructure, the deficits in water services, renewable energy and enhancing the communications network.”
“There is a real urgency around this. The Minister did not address Carelon Global Solutions and what is being done there. I take it he is in there, talking to staff, and that he has SkillNet Ireland in there as well to work with these companies and to examine available alternatives in the immediate term. The question the Government must answer is where the next decade of jobs is coming from. We need a calm, strategic response in this regard. What we do not need, in this period of economic instability, is to row back on commitments to pension enrolment, wages and sick leave. The staff, as the Minister rightly said, must be front and centre. All of these staff members have families who are living and trying to cope with in the midst of the cost-of-living crisis.”
“The threat to jobs in Intel and the job losses in TikTok come on the back of job cuts in Meta. There are reports of 300 jobs at risk at Carelon Global Solutions Ireland in Limerick. This company, as the Minister will know, provides digital integrated solutions for the healthcare industry. It has talked about its decision to consider its future in Ireland, which comes after a review of its business operations and an examination of the changing healthcare landscape globally. Is the Minister working with the staff and management at Carelon Global Solutions in this regard? Has he explored alternatives to these proposed layoffs, which would not only be a severe blow to the individual workers but have a huge negative impact in Limerick? While I welcome the semiconductor strategy, I ask for it to be implemented on an all-island basis.”
“I wrote to the Minister in March following the announcement of 300 job losses in TikTok to ask whether he would commission an audit of job volatility in the technological sector. As it stands today, almost 5,000 staff at Intel are in limbo following the company's announcement of global cuts of 20% to its workforce. I hope, like the Minister, that all of those jobs will be retained. Has he commissioned an audit of jobs in this sector?”
“The assertion in the national planning framework that the population in the eastern and midlands region will grow at twice the rate of the northern and western region combined with the southern region sets a flawed narrative for everything else in the plan. How will a 50-50 growth strategy tackle the imbalance that currently exists and the stagnation of growth in the west and north west? The Northern and Western Regional Assembly has also reported that this part of the country is in the bottom 20 EU regions for transport infrastructure, with notable underinvestment also evident in the region's higher education, research, water, rail, road network and grid. Unfortunately, this plan in its current form fails to meet those needs. On that basis, we will not be able to support it in this form.”
“The section "Working with Our Neighbours" is not adequate in that context. As a west of Ireland representative, I believe the framework is skewed in favour of development in Dublin and the eastern region. This is not good for the west and north west - it is not good for Dublin and the east either. Unless we see regional development as an answer to national challenges, we are missing opportunities and ingraining inequality. CSO statistics show the eastern and midland region has grown by 55%, while the northern and western region has grown by only 15%. Residential unit commencement data from the Department of housing and collated by the Northern and Western Regional Assembly is even more stark. In 2024, 63% of commencements were in the eastern and midland region, while only 10% were in the north and western region.”
“Today, the Minister of State is presenting the national planning framework and it is the blueprint for how the State will manage strategic planning and sustainable development out to 2040. It is essential that the framework deals strategically and systematically with the major issues of our time: housing, climate change, energy security and the prosperity of everyone living on the island. These issues can only be dealt with on an all-island basis. As we prepare for constitutional change and a referendum on Irish unity, there is a responsibility on Government and all agencies to ensure the plans they publish are future-proofed. There is probably no more important document than the national planning framework to ensure we prepare in a cohesive and planned way to create a better future for all living on the island and for future generations.”
“This could see a multiple of new gas and oil power plants built to run their electricity-hungry operations, placing Ireland's climate targets in jeopardy. This is something we must look at. We can do it properly. We can set the scene so this works for businesses, the economy and society. We need to act.”
“People need to know that their data, privacy and human rights will be protected as we navigate the new digital reality. As our use of AI grows, what is the Government doing to ensure that data centres are not placing further strain on the national grid and contributing to emissions? Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh: Central Statistics Office, CSO, data shows that in 2023, AI was used by 8% of Irish enterprises with ten or more employees. The benefits of AI are well-re In February, the Commission for Regulation of Utilities produced guidelines stating that any new development must generate or store as much electricity as it uses but there is no requirement that this energy comes from renewable sources.”
“Central Statistics Office, CSO, data shows that in 2023, AI was used by 8% of Irish enterprises with ten or more employees. The benefits of AI are well-rehearsed and no doubt it will revolutionise the way in which businesses operate in this country and in the global market. It is a very exciting time of innovation but it also carries risks and it has the potential to significantly impact both human rights and equality and the national security of the State. Why, therefore, has the Government not listed the regulation of artificial intelligence Bill as priority legislation? The Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment held a public consultation almost a year ago, yet there is still no clarity on who the competent authorities responsible for implementing the regulation and penalties for non-compliance will be.”
“I am working with a woman whose landlord is selling the house she has lived in for the past seven years. This mother is living with a brain condition and she has a nine-year-old daughter. They are facing homelessness, but because of the restrictions on Mayo County Council, it can no longer purchase a home under the tenant in situ scheme. She said, in her own words, "We have nowhere to go". The best the county council can offer them is emergency accommodation. I ask the Taoiseach to reverse the cuts and severe restrictions to the tenant in situ scheme.”