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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“I am very supportive of the R and D tax credit. A previous question was asked about our competitiveness. Innovation at all levels of business is very important. I am glad the Minister said it would take €100 million to bring it to €80,000 for services. The Minister may already have this information. If he does, I might ask him another question to try to get information on the position if we were to bring it to, say, €50,000, €60,000 or €70,000. It is worth examining this with regard to how we might change it. We have to remember that one of the other big things is that these people are not allowed to pay the PRSI rate that would enable them to get sickness cover or anything like that. They are often in a very vulnerable situation. I know we cannot just have it for the self-employed and sole traders.”
“They say it is okay if they are trading with another business, but they might be trading with a vulnerable person or a television repair person trying to fix somebody's television, or something like that. They say that they have to pass this on, although the person in the house might not have a lot of disposable income in the first instance.”
“I am asking the Minister to undertake greater exploration of this. One of the reasons for this concerns the impact of inflation. We live in an environment that is constantly changing and it is important to examine these things. I am familiar with the different rates in the EU; some are higher and some are lower. In Britain, for instance, it is the same for goods and services at a straight £90,000 sterling. We need to listen to the self-employed. I try to speak to as many of the self-employed as possible. What they are saying to me is that they find it too low, given where they have to register, and that is also the case when passing it on to consumers.”
“I ask this question in the context of how sole traders and self-employed people are struggling right now. I ask in particular what consideration the Tánaiste has given to raising the VAT threshold, especially in the area of services from €42,500 to try to alleviate the administrative burden on these sole traders and self-employed people.”
“Whatever happened to us cherishing all of the children equally? It is shameful that we are in one of the richest countries in the world and parents in my constituency of Mayo and around this country look at their child, at their children, day after day, knowing the therapies they desperately need will impact them right throughout the rest of their lives.”
“Children will continue to be denied the essential education they deserve and are entitled to. Every child has a right to an education. Emergency funding must be made available. Tonight the Government must not only not oppose this motion, it must make an honest commitment to the specific timeframe in which it will meet its legal obligations. A real and immediate workforce plan must be implemented to train, recruit and retain staff. That must be done right across the island. We need to have an all-island approach to the recruitment of staff and the recognition of qualifications. Adequate funding for special needs services, including the provision of appropriate school places for children with additional needs, must be made available. The pathway to what we are talking about here tonight has been paved with broken promises.”
“I, too, want to commend the achievements of Cara Darmody due to her dedicated campaigning for increased access to assessment of need. It is absolutely shameful that she is outside the gates pleading with the Government to do what it knows it needs to do, on one of the worst nights of the year. Not one child in Mayo has had their assessment of need completed within the legal timeframe so far this year. That is 0%. There are 291 children in the county waiting for an assessment of need. This is absolutely shameful. Children and families are being failed dramatically and are being left in limbo, waiting for supports they desperately need. The Government is not only failing these children and their families; it is breaking the law. Without a change in approach, waiting lists will continue to skyrocket.”
“I will talk about the regulation of quarries. The Taoiseach knows the price we have paid in this country and the price that families affected by the defective concrete blocks scandal have paid due to a lack of regulation. Many of the homeowners I have spoken to in Mayo are not satisfied with the current regulations of quarries and in particular, that geologists are not examining the aggregate within the quarries that are being used to build homes now. I ask the Taoiseach to have a look at this area to see what can be done in that regard. It can be easily fixed by engaging and employing geologists to do the job and to make sure that people have confidence in the materials that are coming out of quarries.”
“It is deeply concerning that any legislation would provide the British Secretary of State with the power to veto disclosure on national security grounds for family reports from the information retrieval body, the ICIR and the new legacy commission. All families and survivors have the right to have an Article 2-compliant investigation into the deaths of their loved ones.”
“There can be no watering-down of the commitments made in the British and Irish Governments' joined legacy framework. There are parts of that framework I question but it is very important. I welcome the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee report on this legacy legislation. The primary legislation underpinning the political framework is moving through Westminster. The bottom line is that the legislation must command the confidence of the families and be human rights compliant in order for it to properly deal with the legacy of the past. Reports that the legislation, which is already weak in parts, could be watered down are extremely concerning and will not be accepted.”
“This outsourcing of everything, outsourcing of accountability and responsibility is not acceptable. Our motion is clear. It is to end the under-recording of the 24-hour shifts. It is to ensure compliance with Irish and EU working time law. It is to protect our crews from dangerous levels of fatigue. The recording of a full 24-hour shift as only 16.5 hours through a factoring scheme is inappropriate, unsafe and inconsistent with law. It inflates the number of 24-hour shifts that a worker can be asked to perform by an extra 21 shifts per year. As a result, it exposes our crews and public to unnecessary risk. Have we learned anything at all? Instead of engaging with these real concerns, the Government's amendment tonight deletes every substantive part of our motion. That is not acceptable.”
“I know someone tonight who is travelling from Ballycroy to Inishbiggle. Who knows what is going to happen. Who does one call in that instance? The intended purpose of the Sinn Féin motion was simple. It was to defend the safety and working conditions of our Coast Guard search and rescue crews. These brave workers are vital to counties like my own of Mayo where our coastal communities depend on them every single day and night. Many of our people work at sea. They know that when danger strikes it is these crews who answer the call. I am very disappointed. I keep finding over and over again that there is a lack of accountability from the Government on so many different things saying that it is not its responsibility, it is somebody else, somebody it has contracted to do the job.”
“I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. When we talk about rescue services, I wish to remember Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith from Rescue 116 who lost their lives on duty in 2017. I also wish to remember Caitríona Lucas from 2016 and the many others who have lost their lives in their service to this country. I thank my colleagues Deputies Cullinane and McGuinness for putting the motion forward. We should not even have to do this. It is disgraceful. It is an insult to the Coast Guard services and search and rescue crews. I commend all the volunteers who are involved in the Coast Guard. Coming from a county like Mayo, we see - day and night - what those volunteers put into their communities to keep their communities and people safe. We also have the offshore islands.”
“I am not confident in what is coming out and that the inspection regimes are good enough. The people in Mayo, because they have been let down time and time again, do not have confidence in that either. The Minister referred to alternative suitable accommodation. Deputy Pearse Doherty presented the Minister with a solution to it last week. Again, it was refused by the new the all-singing, all-dancing Minister for Finance. Again, when a solution was presented to him, the Minister for housing turned his back. There need to be changes here before next week, otherwise he must go down, face the people in Mayo and tell them.”
“The Minister said the Government is putting away money for a rainy day. Is it not brilliant? What about the social houses in Mayo and other houses where the rain is coming in through the ceiling and rats and mice are coming through the gaps in the wall? Jesus, the Minister says that he is listening and it is so obvious that he is not hearing a word of what people are saying. We keep giving him the solutions and telling him what needs to be done but he still refuses to listen. I have to bring up with the Minister the current inspection of the quarries. There is a need to appoint a geologist to make sure the aggregate coming out of the quarries is fit for purpose now.”
“If this is what he stands ready to do, it is absolutely disgraceful. I want to take another matter up with him How does it take more than eight or nine months to get the results of tests that are done? I have people waiting since early this year to get the results back from the tests so they could get on with their work. Can the Minister give me an explanation before we leave the Chamber tonight as to why the tests take this long? Is he sending them to Mars? It is taking eight or nine months to get the results of the tests back. I am not an engineer but I can tell going into a house, because I have been in so many houses that are falling down, that somebody has pyrite. There is pyrite in the defective blocks in Mayo. It takes eight or nine months to get the results of tests back. Where is the scheme for the social houses?”
“I do not know who thought it was acceptable, or who thought it was acceptable for the Minister to go back on his word. It is certainly not acceptable to me or to homeowners in Mayo. I also wish to raise retrospective payments. Time and time again, I have asked him to cover houses that people had to build before the scheme in. They have to be covered. There are gaps that people are trying to deal with. Let us take Páirc na Coille in Westport. There is €50,000 of a gap. How in the name of God does the Minister expect people to find €50,000? They cannot find it. It is just not there. Now I have to go back and tell some of them tonight: "Actually you are not included in this. He has excluded you." Jesus, I do not know what to say to the Minister at this stage. He says he stands ready to provide financial help.”
“The Minister could have introduced this legislation as an inconsequential amendment to the emergency planning Bill. I told the Minister and the Tánaiste in this Chamber. I have been telling them: "Do not worry; nobody will be left behind." Now the Minister comes and says 29 March is cut-off day. I am speaking to the Minister and the officials as well: for heaven's sake, please correct that. I am very conscious that this is not going to reach Committee Stage for another week and that families tonight are going to be in the same excruciating torture they have been in for months. The Minister has to change it. It is wholly unacceptable.”
“I cannot believe I am reading this legislation. I have waited every week for it since March. It could have been done in April, May, June, July, August, September, October or November. Here we are now in December and this is what the Government gives us? Is the Government going to take all the calls from people in County Mayo tonight when they look at this legislation and see that 29 March is an arbitrary cut-off date? The Government cannot do this. We will obviously be putting in amendments to this legislation. Minister after Minister and official after official swore nobody would be disadvantaged by the point at which they went into this scheme. Now, this turns out to be blatantly false. I have been reassuring homeowners. There has been talk of cohorts here. I have been reassuring families that the legislation will come.”
“We are trying to deal with an immediate humanitarian situation here. In any other country in the world, this is the way it would be looked at. We are one of the richest countries in the world. I ask the Tánaiste to have some compassion and common sense. What is being proposed here also makes economic sense.”
“To continue on that, the Tánaiste really needs to get that this is not just business as usual but a humanitarian situation. The bottom line for me in Mayo, right from the beginning when I first saw people's houses collapsing, was that nobody would be left behind or locked out of this scheme because they could not afford to get into it, could not find an alternative property or whatever else might lock them out. We cannot leave people behind in this situation because it was not their fault. It was not their fault there was no regulation or there was light regulation. Indeed, I query the regulation in place right now. That is why the Minister for housing needs to look at having proper oversight of the quarries currently supplying aggregate and materials being used to build houses.”
“It should never have happened. We need a full public inquiry into what went on here. When we have one, the Tánaiste will see that it could and should have been avoided. There are things that can be done now. I ask the Tánaiste, in his role as Minister for Finance, to focus on the solutions that have been presented to him and, once and for all, let these families get on with rebuilding their homes and lives that have been destroyed through no fault of their own.”
“We fought to put the first place in place and when it was introduced, we sat down with the action group in Mayo and worked out over 20 things that could be done to that scheme that would have alleviated a lot of the problems we have spoken about since and would have given people 100% redress to allow them to rebuild their homes and lives. I remind the Tánaiste that many families have one, two or three children with disabilities. They are trying to manage all of this. I have seen the mental and physical health of the homeowners deteriorate over the years. In his new role as Minister for Finance, I ask the Tánaiste to take this in hand. We are continuously presenting the Government with the solutions about how to deal with the defective concrete blocks scandal. We have to remember that this was avoidable in the first place.”
“People from Mayo gathered outside the Dáil yesterday. I am not sure if the Tánaiste met any of them. I know one mother and her children. The Tánaiste will hear the story about how the cracks in the wall are so wide that rats and mice are coming through the wall and the family has had to vacate the home urgently. There are families in dire humanitarian situations. This is a tiny thing that needs to be done. I ask the Tánaiste not to continue turning his back. We have been a 100% redress party from the beginning.”
“I ask the Tánaiste to think about this amendment because we in Sinn Féin are trying to find practical solutions. I have been trying to find practical solutions to this situation with pyrite and defective concrete blocks for over a decade. We keep presenting solutions to Government that are not accepted, so I ask the Tánaiste to look at this amendment. It makes sense. It is time-limited. There are homeowners who are in a position to rebuild their homes but they do not have alternative accommodation. This is particularly the case in coastal areas like Mayo, Donegal and Sligo. There is a high number of short-term rentals in these areas that could be used were we to incentivise the landlords to let out the homes. It is a time-limited situation, lasting for however long it takes to rebuild the homes.”
“Until such time as we have a referendum on Irish unity and an opportunity to design a new and modern all-island, world-class service, I ask the Taoiseach and the Minister for Health to set aside a permanent allocation in the health budget for the delivery of healthcare on an all-island basis, utilising North-South collaboration to improve outcomes for patients in both jurisdictions and maximise the wonderful clinical expertise on the island.”
“At last week's session of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, we had a profound contribution from the All-Island Cancer Research Institute and the All-Island Congenital Heart Disease Network. It highlighted once again what we have known for some time, namely, that lives can be saved and healthcare can only be delivered to an optimum level across the island when we have an all-island approach to healthcare for the 7 million people living on the island. It makes zero sense on a small island such as ours financially or otherwise to have two healthcare systems operating simultaneously.”
“The Protected Disclosures Act must guarantee confidentiality, even during criminal proceedings; prevent disclosure orders from destroying investigations; protect whistleblowers from retaliation, delays in justice and exposure; and ensure the law cannot be weaponised against victims.”
“I have seven and a half minutes. Evidence can be shaped. Witnesses can be influenced. Records can be altered or destroyed. Justice can be quietly denied. This is not a minor flaw; it is systemic failure. The Government knows about this gap, but continues to send a clear and chilling message, that if people speak up about criminal activity in An Garda Síochána, they cannot be guaranteed that the wrongdoing will be exposed. If people show courage, the system may very well punish them for it. This is the reality. This is the message and it is the Government's failure. That is the message whistleblowers are hearing across the State and it is one that should shame any government that claims to stand up for transparency, accountability or justice. Urgent, meaningful reform is needed.”
“After the guilty plea, the investigation resumed but crucial parts could no longer be examined because too much time had passed, delayed by the very process that was meant to protect whistleblowers. The law that was meant to protect this individual became the barrier to justice. The system failed the whistleblower. Here is the hard truth. Once the protected disclosure had been disclosed to the accused, the organisation against which wrongdoing was alleged, an impartial investigation became impossible.”
“Separately, this constituent made a protected disclosure to Fiosrú detailing interference, protection and cover-up by some colleagues in An Garda Síochána. This disclosure also highlighted systemic issues around the ability of some members of An Garda Síochána to impartially investigate cases of domestic violence. What followed exposed the deep inadequacy of our legislation. Every single time the protected disclosure progressed, the defence made a disclosure order. The criminal trial was delayed again and again. Fiosrú had to put the protected disclosure investigation in abeyance; it was effectively frozen. The protections promised by the Government were suspended and the whistleblower was left exposed, vulnerable and punished for their honesty.”
“I thank the Independent Technical Group for tabling this motion. It is very important. I thank those in the Gallery who have paid the price, their families and those who are not with us today. Deputy Buckley rightly remembers those who are no longer here. We are here today to confront a profound failure of law, protection and leadership. It is a failure that punishes the brave and protects the powerful. It is a failure that tells every ordinary person in the State not to speak up or they will pay the price. I want to speak about protected disclosures in An Garda Síochána. I commend the members of An Garda Síochána who serve the force and this country with dignity and dedication. A constituent reported domestic violence by a serving member of An Garda Síochána and a criminal investigation began.”
“It is within the will of the justice system here to make them stop if the sanctions are severe enough. We have to create communities that are free of the crime of domestic and sexual violence and of gender-based violence.”
“When domestic violence and sexual violence crimes are committed, they are committed by the perpetrator knowing what they are doing. They make that choice. They choose to do this, and they will continue to do it until the sanctions reflect the gravity of what they do. The destruction of the lives of women and children has to stop, and it has to stop now. The cost of gender-based violence to individual lives, to families and to communities is just too high and it continues decade after decade and year after year. It is time to shout "stop". Obviously, we need more services. We need resources. We need all of that desperately. There are too many counties that do not even have a refuge within them. We need the perpetrators to stop, and they will only stop if we make them stop.”
“The bottom line is that they have a right to feel safe. This Bill will obviously help that in the situation where the perpetrators more often than not are not obliged to fulfil even the lenient sentences that they get. The Minister will know that we operate in systems that condone domestic and sexual violence. I see it all the time in courts. I see decisions made where it is quite obvious that those who are making the decisions do not understand the dynamics of domestic violence and they do not understand the minds of the abusers who are in front of them. I have seen so many letters come before court that say: "he was a member of the GAA club" or "he is an outstanding citizen", and all of these excuses that are made.”
“I commend my colleagues Matt Carthy and Maria McCormack on bringing this critical Bill forward. Above all, I welcome the women in the Gallery and thank them from the bottom of my heart for all that they have done and all that they continue to do. I want them to know that it really matters and that it will bring about the change that we need to make when we stand together. I believe the Minister knows that we have confidence and faith in him that he will make the changes that are needed here so that we are not coming back year after year doing the same thing over and over again. He will know that domestic and sexual violence is not treated as a crime and there is not zero tolerance because if there were, we would not be standing here again. He also knows that women and children have a right to feel safe.”
“What are we doing here? Where is the common sense? While the Minister of State and the Government continue to ignore industry pleas, Sinn Féin will stand up for SMEs, hauliers and ordinary workers. I urge those on the benches opposite to urgently adopt measures to cut haulage costs, support our struggling SMEs and safeguard local jobs before even more damage is done.”
“What the Government fails to understand is that these businesses do not have the large legal and compliance department behind them that multinational companies do. More often than not, it is the mum and dad in the family-run business sitting down outside of the hours or at the weekends trying to get all of that paperwork done. Instead of listening and supporting them by reducing the burden, we heard last week that the Government is adding additional red tape for hauliers. The proposed restrictions on heavy-load transport, potentially requiring permits to be applied for up to a year in advance, will add yet more ridiculous red tape to businesses that are already overwhelmed. Industry experts have flagged this and stated that it will cause major delays to essential infrastructure delivery and even risk electricity supply upgrades.”
“SMEs across the country are currently buckling under the rising wage costs, huge regulatory burdens and spiralling operational costs. Budget 2026 increased the minimum wage, which was welcome and needed, but it failed to provide any substantial assistance for employers contending with high wage costs. That is why Sinn Féin's alternative budget proposed a temporary employer PRSI rebate to fill that gap. We are constantly receiving pleas from struggling small businesses from across all sectors to reduce the huge administrative burden placed upon them by Government regulations. We are not talking about lifting regulations; we are talking about the administrative burden that is put on these businesses. Valuable resources within small family-run businesses are being allocated for completing unnecessary levels of paperwork and bureaucracy.”
“Hundreds of workers, contractors and franchisees are left in limbo, some owed weeks of pay and others facing deep debts from the vehicles that they finance themselves or from the huge franchise buy-in fees. All this has come just weeks before Christmas for families. I commend the work of my own colleagues in Laois, Senator Maria McCormack and Councillor Claire Murray, who have been supporting all of those affected locally in County Laois. Obviously it spreads to County Mayo and other counties. Fastway's receivership did not come without warning. The IRHA told the Government months ago that the industry was on its knees and companies would collapse without intervention in budget 2026, but the Government did nothing. Now it is the workers and the small operators who are paying the price.”
“An increase in carbon taxes on fuel eats into the narrow profit margins for haulage companies and makes routes increasingly unviable. The hauliers who bring food to our supermarkets and deliver packages and orders from struggling SMEs are forced to pay these costs multiple times a day in the case of toll charges because there is no alternative. It is like shooting fish in a barrel. Like everything else, these spiralling costs inevitably work their way onto the shelves and out of the pockets of ordinary families. Once again, it is the people who can least afford it who are paying for Government inaction. We saw the consequences of this crisis with the collapse of Fastway Couriers last month.”
“As Deputy Daly said, only this week we tabled very clear and targeted proposals that would have cut the cost of driving for ordinary motorists and for the haulage industry. We called on the Government to stop the toll hikes, which could have been done, to reverse the carbon tax increases on fuel, to end the financial penalties for paying motor tax in instalments and to stand up to the insurance industry in order that the benefits of the long-promised reforms are passed on to drivers. They were clear and simple asks, but the Government rejected every single one of those proposals. Because of that, the pressure on SMEs and on hauliers continues to mount, putting local jobs and businesses at serious risk. The latest toll increase, in the words of the IRHA, was the straw that broke the camel's back.”
“The Minister of State referred to the road freight forum. I could not be in front of the Minister of State without mentioning the western rail corridor and the important part it will play in addressing freight transport in the future. I look forward to an imminent announcement to ensure this is going to happen as quickly as possible. The Minister of State also referred in his statement to the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021. The carbon tax has been an integral part of the Government's response to the need to address climate change but when there is no alternative, it just becomes a revenue-raising exercise. It is not a tax to change behaviour. That is the big issue that I have with the carbon tax and the extra cost it is putting on hauliers and others.”
“I want more psychologists in there. I want to end the ridiculous situation whereby if a child psychologist or anybody else goes on maternity leave, we wait until they are on maternity leave to then try to recruit. I am deeply concerned about the number of young people who are dying by suicide in Mayo and then even their families and the communities around them cannot get child psychology services.”
“I too wish Paschal Donohoe the very best of luck for the future. We managed to disagree agreeably most of the time. I want to recognise the contribution he has made to political life. I ask him to consider taking a lead from his former leader Leo Varadkar in terms of the work that he has done as an ambassador for the reunification of our island. There are many issues that are facing us that can only be tackled on an all-island basis. There are some wonderful books and academic papers that he can refer to in all of that. The issue I want to deal with today is the lack of child psychology services in Mayo. In 2023, there was a two-year waiting list, which was totally unacceptable. Now, there is a three-year waiting list. That is not good enough for the for the children of Mayo. We are told that it is due to a range of factors.”
“We will work with the Minister to ensure that is done but there is a real urgency around what needs to be done. Other ancillary supports that are need for these family need to be provided as well in combination with the disability services.”
“No parents should ever learn after the fact that the system, which was meant to protect children, effectively gave up on their child. I again send my sincere condolences to Harvey's mum and dad, Gillian and Stephen. We are all mindful as we come up to Christmas how excruciatingly painful it must be for the family and other families as well. Shamefully, Harvey is not alone. The Minister knows about Mikey Henry Benson from my constituency. I thank the Minister for meeting them on Monday, giving them time and listening to what needs to be done. While the inquiry will cover the scandal of what has gone on in the past, we have to keep alive the children who are still alive today. They have been absolutely neglected, but they are alive and must be kept alive at all costs.”
“Only an inquiry with real powers that moves quickly, compels co-operation and establishes all of the facts can deliver the truth and rebuild trust in the system. This inquiry stems from a broken promise made by Deputy Simon Harris in 2017 when he pledged that no child would wait more than four months for scoliosis surgery. Years of delays have led to disability for many children and for others, like Harvey Morrison Sherratt, it cost them their lives. Harvey should have had the surgery when he needed it. Instead, he and his family were failed again and again by a system that hid the truth. The revelation that Harvey was removed from the surgical waiting list and treated as a palliative care patient without any discussion or disclosure to his family is profoundly shocking.”
“Let me make it clear: we have only reached this point of establishing a statutory inquiry into the failures in paediatric spinal care in Ireland solely due to the brave families and advocates who have forced the Government to act. I acknowledge that the Minister has listened to the families and they are taking it in good faith that she will do what they are asking her to do. It should never have taken years of campaigning, media appearances and unimaginable heartbreak to secure a statutory inquiry. These families refused to be silenced. They deserve the truth and proper accountability. To do these families justice, this inquiry must be fully independent, legally underpinned and completely free from the influence of CHI and the HSE. There must also be compellability. CHI has resisted transparency for far too long.”
“I commend the work of Dublin City University, Aberdeen University and University College Dublin on the constitutional deliberations from grassroots that is being done by Dr. Shelley Deane, Professor Joanne McEvoy and Professor Jennifer Todd. I raise this because this work has been done with focus groups in Mayo, Bellaghy, Longford, Cookstown and Monaghan. The shared island unit, which is very much welcome, is doing work on women and the Constitution. I ask that the unit uses this academic work to underpin what the unit is going to do. The credibility of the work the academics are doing would really carry this forward. Why has it not got academic underpinning?”