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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“That right, the right to choose the President of Ireland, the head of State for all of our people, has been denied to citizens resident in the North of Ireland and to our citizens abroad for far too long. The President of Ireland represents not just the Twenty-six Counties of this Republic, but the nation, the Thirty-two Counties of Ireland and the ever-expanding Irish family across the world. It is frankly reprehensible that our Government continues to turn its face against extending this basic democratic right to the very people who embody that national identity. In these 12 long years, what has been the Government's response? The Minister's response earlier was that the Government is reflecting. There has been 12 years of reflection. That must be a world record for reflecting.”
“In 2013, the Convention on the Constitution voted overwhelmingly in favour of extending the presidential franchise to Northern citizens and Irish citizens living abroad. That question was settled. Let us ask ourselves today what it means to be a citizen. Over 700,000 people in the North of Ireland now hold Irish passports. This number has grown significantly since Brexit. They carry that passport not simply as a travel document, but as a declaration of belonging, of national identity and of faith in the Republic they believe represents them. Being an Irish citizen must mean more than the possession of a passport. The true and practical expression of citizenship is the right to participate in democracy, the right to vote to shape the leadership and direction of your nation.”
“This gruelling presidential campaign will result in an Irish President representing all of the people living on this island and the global family of Irish citizens. She will endeavour to make us all proud, no matter where we live, yet the electorate is confined to Irish citizens living in the Twenty-six Counties. Even that franchise is restricted because many students will not be able to make it home in time to vote, there are workers living too far away from their designated polling booths and there are people who will be on holiday or working abroad on polling day. Postal voting or proxy voting must be extended to make it possible for those citizens to vote. Turning to the North, the question must be asked; what does Irish citizenship mean?”
“I ask each member of the Government to have that discussion and conversation in their parliamentary party groups. Let it unite us. This is much bigger than party politics. We need to do this. We owe it to people to do this. We owe it to people who are currently living on this island, right across the board, and we owe it to the future to do this preparatory work now. I welcome the shared island unit and the work that it does but it has to be expanded and there has to be urgency about answering the questions that we need to have answered. We cannot hope to tackle issues such as climate change, public health, energy security and food security with a separated island. We can only do it together. Let us go forward from here and do what needs to be done. We know what that is.”
“To conclude this debate, I thank everybody who has contributed tonight, including Government Members. It is important. What is obvious from it is, exactly as it says in the motion, is that we need a Green Paper on Irish unity, a White Paper, an Oireachtas joint committee dedicated to reunification and citizens' assemblies. Were we to do that, even in itself, we would make much progress in this space. We all agree that we need to prepare. Let us not go over the old ground. Let us agree here and now that we need to prepare, but we need to do it urgently. We also need to include our diaspora, including the thousands of people living in Britain and America. These are Irish people who really want to be part of this debate. The Government has a particular role to play as coguarantor of the Good Friday Agreement, as does the Taoiseach.”
“When we go for a Border poll, a referendum, on Irish unity, which will be sooner than many think, people will need to be able to answer those questions. For the Government not to be doing the work now is absolutely wrong. We have the answers regarding what needs to be done, but we need a framework. We also need not to reinvent the wheel all the time. We need to be able to do additionality on all those questions. From the work we did on the finance and economic section and women and the constitution, we know that what is coming from women - north, south, east or west - is that they want to be part of shaping a new and united Ireland. We have a responsibility that needs to be taken seriously, and that has to start now. We are not doing anyone any favours. I hear it said that we had better not frighten the unionists. That is crazy.”
“I acknowledge the work of Deputies Emer Currie and Brendan Smith in respect of that but there is a blockage there at the level of An Taoiseach and I ask the Minister of State and Fine Gael to call him out on it because what he is doing is reckless. We need to be able to answer key questions. Whether they are unionists, nationalists, republicans or whatever, people need to be able to answer what an all-island health service will look like, what an education system across the island will look like and what will be the economic benefits. We now have the macroeconomic model done by the Economic and Social Research Institute, which is a game-changer in the context of what we can do with the data available to us. We have absolute evidence.”
“I acknowledge the work of the Minister of State, Deputy Richmond, in this space. I recognise it and his interest in reunification. That is important because what we are discussing is much bigger than party politics. It is reckless and negligent for the Taoiseach not to play the role he needs to play right now in terms of preparation. Everybody agrees that we need to prepare. Everywhere one goes, one hears that we need to prepare but that preparation is not being done in the way it needs to be done by Government. The Oireachtas Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement told the Taoiseach exactly what he needs to do. The committee told him what he needs to do on the Green Paper, sector-by-sector engagement, citizens' assemblies and the setting up of a joint Oireachtas committee. It is his colleagues who have agreed this.”
“As our party's spokesperson on further and higher education, Deputy McGettigan, said, we reserve the right to make amendments to what the Minister is proposing but we want to work constructively with him. I really want to know about the depth of consultation that has taken place with the employer representative groups and with the unions as well. That is critical because we have such a large amount of money here to be able to deal constructively with and we want to ensure its potential it is maximised. Go raibh míle maith agaibh.”
“I am also watching our productivity rates in terms of how we address the gaps there to remain competitive. The National Training Fund, first and foremost, should be used for that lifelong learning before it is used for anything else, to ensure all the gaps are addressed there. I also want to see the National Training Fund being used for the North-South initiatives and the change of learning there. Under the shared island unit, we could have much better collaboration whereby somebody in the North may be able to do part of an apprenticeship in the South and vice versa . That brings all kinds of value with it. That is probably all I will say about it at this point.”
“As a party we want to work with the Government but we do not want to end up in a situation where this fund is gone. Our competitiveness that we talk about every day of the week is at a very critical point. The driver for our competitiveness, or how we are going to ensure it into the future, is an educated labour force. It will ensure we remain competitive into the future. We have so many changes in this space, from the development of AI and technologies to everything else companies are faced with. Right across the island, we have not had the emphasis we have needed on lifelong learning. I refer to lifelong learning for everybody, including for people with disabilities and other people who need to be able to participate fully in the workforce.”
“They can be much better used to support the very businesses that have paid into this fund. We are told that carbon tax is being used for decarbonisation and to meet our targets. Again, I am very concerned about the amount of money that can be eaten up in that space. I agree 100% that there needs to be decarbonisation on the part of all of the higher education institutes but I cannot see how the National Training Fund can or should be used. That has to be an investment from the other funds that are being set aside for that. Has the Minister done an assessment of the allocations of the moneys? I really need to see further detail on that. If the Department could supply us with a further briefing paper on what might be done, that would be helpful.”
“Obviously, these groups are dealing with hundreds of businesses and will know what businesses need in terms of training. Are there any caps on the amounts of money that can be used in the different areas? If we say, for instance, that the fund can be opened up to the purchase of land, as the Minister knows, infinite figures could be locked in that way. Again, I would like to see caps in these areas if he is considering that. We have a €306 million deficit in further and higher education and that is quite disgraceful. It really has not been addressed in any meaningful way. I do not want the National Training Fund to be suddenly used to plug all of the gaps. I absolutely recognise the need for investment. There has not been the investment in the technological universities that was promised.”
“I welcome the opportunity to talk about the National Training Fund because, as the Minister will know, we have long wanted to unlock this fund. It is, as was said, the fund that employers and hard-pressed businesses have paid into. They feel they have got very little back for the payments that have been made and they have been seeing the figures accumulate over the years. I have some concerns about this fund and what the Minister is proposing for it. We need further discussion on the detail of how this will be done. The first thing I would propose to the Minister is around the consultation that has happened on the unlocking and what it will mean. Has there been consultation with IBEC and ISME, the employer representative groups, to get their opinions on it?”
“He has let us down and has let children down. That is why I am opposing the motion of confidence in the Tánaiste. To hear everybody uttering confidence today is deplorable.”
“For clinicians in other countries to see these children and what we allowed to happen to them would not be acceptable. They would see the scale of the problem. The Tánaiste promised Mikey and others that they would wait no longer than four months for their surgery. Mikey's suffering continues. His parents continue to fight for his life. Why are we not insourcing the expertise from Great Ormond Street Hospital or Stanmore hospital? I hold the Tánaiste and his Government responsible for allowing harm to be inflicted on these children and young adults. That is why I cannot express confidence in him or his Government today. I just do not trust them. Mikey's mum said: We asked Simon Harris for help last year but it never happened. He just wished our family all the best. What I want to say cannot be said live on TV.”
“It was made clear to his mum what could happen to his vital organs if his scoliosis was not treated, yet Mikey was left to deteriorate. His spine and lungs were not monitored for another eight months. Meanwhile, his lungs were severely compromised. He is now on a bilevel position airway pressure, BiPAP, machine every night to remove the carbon dioxide from his lungs. His parents said their hearts were completely shattered when they were then told that he could not have his scoliosis surgery. His spinal curve is now 130 degrees. It was preventable if only Mikey had been looked after. This would not happen in any other country. That is the issue for the Government. It would not happen in any other country. That was made clear yesterday and it is part of why these children could not get the help they needed from abroad either.”
“I have listened really intently to every word that has been said here today by all of the speakers. We are here today specifically because of scoliosis and the promises that were made. Families were threatened, ignored, and told to go away. They were told that they were the problem. They were reported to Tusla and it was all under the Tánaiste's watch. Children and young adults were told to go home and to go to their GPs. They were told to go home while their ribs and bones crushed their lungs until they could not breathe. That is a fact and it is why we are here. Mikey Henry-Benson, who I have mentioned here many times, is 17 years old and has a neurological condition. He is a wheelchair user. He had severe scoliosis with a spinal curve of over 100 degrees in 2023.”
“There are many more things I can say in relation to this, but the Minister needs to wake up. I appeal to all the TDs who are casting their vote against this motion to think long and hard about the suffering these homeowners and these children and families have had to endure through no fault of their own. It is absolutely disgraceful.”
“Somebody looking at that who does not know exactly what carry-on is happening here and how the Government is gaslighting homeowners may think that is the problem solved. It states, "eligible expenditure". How can it be 100% when people are €50,000-plus short of what it is costing them to rebuild their homes never mind rebuild their lives? Then, it goes on to mention, "the PRS relative to DCB, and the flexibility sought by DCB homeowners", so really it is the homeowners' fault that they do not have a 100% wraparound scheme as was provided before. This is a disgraceful countermotion.”
“How does he think it would compensate the children who were maybe three years old at the time when they first noticed that their homes were crumbling? Their childhoods have been robbed from them by this Government and Fianna Fáil and by the cost of the Galway tent because that is what it comes down to. I want people listening today to know that the cost to them - to the taxpayers and everyone who pays VAT in this country - of the Fianna Fáil light regulation and no regulation is €2.2 billion-plus. That is what they are paying back. That is what they are being asked to pay. I will go through some of the rest of it but lives have been destroyed and lives have been cut short and there are people who are no longer with us who were caught up in this through no fault of their own. The countermotion states "100 per cent of eligible expenditure".”
“I am very happy to co-sign this motion today with Deputy Ward and my colleagues, and I do so on behalf of the people of County Mayo and on behalf of the people for whom I have been fighting for the past 15 years. It is 15 years since we first noticed the houses start to crumble in Erris. Pat the Cope Gallagher is in the Chamber, and he will know many of those houses and families impacted. I am appalled by this countermotion the Government has tabled today and by the language that is in it. I will go through some of it. It states, "nor a compensation scheme". How the hell does the Minister think the Government would ever compensate the families who have been impacted by defective concrete blocks?”
“Obviously we all welcome the ceasefire and we wait with bated breath but what is important is what is within our capacity here and the commitments that have already been made. My question to the Taoiseach is on the occupied territories Bill. Is the occupied territories Bill going to be implemented in this term of the Dáil, will that include goods and services, and can the Taoiseach comment, as the previous speaker said, on the authorisation by the Tánaiste of the plane that landed to refuel on its way to Israel over the weekend?”
“Existing supports in place from Enterprise Ireland, under the green transition fund among others, are not seeing participation rates that will contribute to Ireland achieving its goals of reducing emissions by 51% by 2030 and climate neutrality by 2050. What additional measures to assist businesses to decarbonise is the Government putting in place to make energy more affordable, reduce the cost of doing business and boost our competitiveness?”
“Energy costs in the State are astronomical and are having a detrimental impact on competitiveness. This rip-off of Irish customers was confirmed again today by a recent international report, which revealed that our retail electricity prices are three times higher than wholesale prices, one of the highest price gaps in the world. We are completely exposed to the price of fossil fuels on the international markets and this is driving up the cost of doing business here, with businesses being ripped off. Decarbonising and renewable energy must be prioritised to address this, but the technology for businesses to decarbonise often requires an upfront investment that is unrealistic and too expensive for many businesses.”
“There is no mention of the more than 16,000 people who are homeless. There is no increase in the rent credit, even though we know that rents have gone up hugely. I just do not know where this budget has been plucked from.”
“This is one of the most unfair budgets I have ever seen, even going back to the austerity years. When I walked out of the Houses yesterday I met a well-known activist in a wheelchair. A lot of the Ministers of State will know her and they have great respect for her. Out of curiosity, I asked her how the budget works out for her. With tears in her eyes, she said that she will be €1,400 worse off because there is no cost of disability payment. The Minister of State tells me there are millions of euro for disability services. How then can we leave someone in a wheelchair more than €1,400 worse off in a budget when we have a €10 billion surplus? I just cannot figure out how the Government managed to do that. When we talk about housing, we see there is no further funding for social and affordable housing. It is so unambitious.”
“They know the Government promised childcare for €200 a month. That was not delivered yesterday. There was no mention of it whatsoever. What in the name of God did workers do to this Government? Workers have never worked so hard and struggled so much. The Government knows that. In all of the Government TDs’ constituency offices, they know how hard people are working and how much they are struggling to make ends meet with the cost of living. Despite this, the Government ignores them. If the Government was going to end the measures put in place last year, it should have at least built them in to make life easier for people, rather than more difficult, but that is what it has achieved with this budget. I do not know how the Government managed to take €10 billion and make life so much more difficult for the many people who are working so hard.”
“There is a lack of transparency around this budget. It is disgraceful. Despite having 15 Ministers and 23 Ministers of State, we have no costings of existing levels of service. How does the Government know what is going on within the Departments if it does not know the costings of the levels of services that are already in place? How does the Government know how much it has for new measures? It makes a complete mockery of the budget. Imagine if Sinn Féin presented a budget without the existing levels of service costed. What kind of economics is that? It is crazy and it permeates right through this budget. This budget will be known as the budget where the election promises were put in the bin. People are not stupid. The people in Mayo and the west of Ireland are not stupid either.”
“It is up to this Government to lead and to implement the occupied territories Bill without further delay. It has to be done. We have to stand up. Recognising the State of Palestine has to mean more. At a minimum, it has to mean implementing the occupied territories Bill, whatever it takes. We are willing to come in here day or night to do that.”
“Famine was confirmed in Gaza for the first time by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said Israel is committing war crime upon war crime. There have been 248 journalists killed and 540 aid workers slaughtered. Humanitarian aid has been weaponised by the Israeli Government, which controls every access point and aid distribution network. All aid distribution must be independent, impartial and neutral in line with humanitarian principles. As I stand here today, I wonder what it will take. I go to different gatherings, as the Minister does, and I hear people talking about the occupied territories Bill. We both work in the business sphere. I hear businesses saying that services should not be included in the Bill.”
“At the outset, I acknowledge the protesters who gather every weekend around this country, and what the Irish people have done to stand up for Palestine and what they continue to do. I want to acknowledge that in the House today and thank them for it. I extend deepest solidarity to the Palestinian people who are living under unimaginable and horrific suffering and starvation at the hands of the Israeli Government and its allies. The outbreak of this horrific genocide is approaching its second anniversary. Gaza has been flattened to the ground. There have been more than 66,000 deaths. In one week alone, between 3 and 10 September, 499 Palestinians were killed. Almost 170,000 people have been injured and 90% of the population has been forcibly displaced. There has been prolonged and enforced starvation on a civilian population.”
“I hope the Whip behind the Minister has some answers on this, maybe that it will come, but we absolutely need this to be brought to the floor. We in the Opposition, and this goes across all Opposition parties, will move heaven and earth, once it comes onto the floor of the Dáil to make sure that it goes through quickly. We have waited far too long for this legislation.”
“I want to talk to the Minister about the defective concrete block legislation once again. We have been back for three weeks. Each week I look at the programme for the week and each week my colleague Deputy Mac Lochlainn, the Sinn Féin Whip, asks for the legislation to come before us here, to the House, to be able to be dealt with. We are in a situation where homeowners are still waiting for the updated grant rates and the increased timeframe for completion to be applicable retrospectively to all applicants. It is not acceptable. We showed them in June. We said exactly what needed to be done to bring this legislation to the floor of the Dáil. Homeowners are stuck in this limbo where they cannot get the increased rates.”
“They cannot do that if they are being asked to pay this insurance. I have to go back to the defective concrete blocks situation and why we need a full public inquiry into what has happened there. All these people had their homes insured. Engineers were insured and there was insurance all around but not one of those insurance companies have paid out and the Government has not held them to account. It is time to hold the insurance companies to account.”
“For those who could afford home insurance in my constituency of Mayo, one of the counties most affected by the defective concrete blocks and pyrite scandal, this defect was not even covered in their policies so they must rely on State assistance under the defective concrete blocks scheme, which is also mired in controversy and payout delays. I know that since I started in the Seanad at least, Deputy Doherty was leading from the Opposition in trying to tackle the cost of insurance. We have talked about it and talked about it. We have presented the solutions to Governments and told them what needed to be done across the board. We are now discussing this again today and how families who are really struggling are being ripped off. It is time to get those prices under control and give these workers and families a break.”
“It seems desperately unfair that the runaway house prices across the State have led to an increase in home insurance costs. Home insurance is becoming a real problem meaning that some struggling families opt to underinsure their home or go without insurance altogether. The consequences of families taking a chance and foregoing home insurance played out earlier this year when Storm Éowyn arrived on our shores. Families without insurance were left relying on the state to step in and cover the cost of storm damage where pay outs from the humanitarian assistance scheme from Storm Éowyn already totalled €13.6 million. We end up paying one way or the other if people cannot afford home insurance and that is just not on.”
“Every day, you wait and hope and, every day, nothing happens. There is no bed for you today. Is that the way we treat our most vulnerable people in 2025?”
“I raise the serious issue of the shortage of beds in Beaumont Hospital. An example of the impact of this shortage is brought home by the very serious case of one of my constituents. I have his family's permission to raise his case with the Taoiseach because they are absolutely desperate. His name is Henry Keane from Blacksod and he was recently diagnosed with a brain tumour. Since 17 September, he has been waiting in Mayo University Hospital for a transfer to Beaumont Hospital. He is listed under a consultant in Beaumont who has accepted the transfer but Beaumont is waiting to have a bed available. There is no bed available. We can imagine what it is like to be lying in a hospital bed not knowing what the future holds, unable to get the treatment you need and not knowing when that treatment will be given.”
“Six of the top ten FDI companies enable union representation. We know for a fact that it increases respect for management. It increases as union recognition increases. We need to take heed of the good jobs Bill in the North as well, because that is really making inroads in this area in terms of union recognition. As a party, 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 of my colleague, Deputy Louise O'Reilly, in this area, as well as the work of my former colleague, a former Senator, Paul Gavan, with regard to the support and progression of trade unions and trade union representatives. We on this side of the House are committed to the rights of workers right across this island. Again, this speaks to the all-island economy.”
“This is absolutely critical because we are at a juncture regarding how we will shape our economy going forward. We cannot have an economy without workers. We need to stop viewing it as workers versus employers because the benefits of collective bargaining are huge. I commend the campaign in this regard which is being run by the Irish Congress of Trade Unions, in particular, and the presentation yesterday in the audiovisual room. People will be surprised to see that although there is a constitutional right for people to be part of a union, there is no legal obligation on the employer to engage with that union. We have an imbalance there that needs to be addressed. Investing in SMEs and microbusinesses to rescue jobs and protect our communities should be a priority for all our parties. It is certainly a priority for Sinn Féin.”
“My question relates to the publication of the action plan on collective bargaining that underpins the EU directive on an adequate minimum wage. When will we see the contents of this plan? What is the timeline for the delivery of the legislation underpinning that? There is a commitment in the programme for Government to finalise this action plan by the end of 2025. It will be October next week and the Minister is running out of road in this regard.”
“In setting up a new agency – I hate the idea of a new agency – we must ensure it is something with specific targets and aims for that area to increase our indigenous businesses rapidly in the space they have been given.”
“Will the Minister think about this? In Sinn Féin's manifesto and over a number of years, we have envisaged the establishment of a mol gnó, a new Irish enterprise agency focused specifically on scaling existing Irish businesses. This would be a strong agency for non-export focused start-ups and established companies. It would specifically cover the void in support from existing agencies like Enterprise Ireland and the IDA. Enterprise Ireland and the IDA do a really good job but we are not using the space we have at the moment to address over-reliance on foreign direct investment. Although we absolutely need and thrive on foreign direct investment, we have to bridge that gap.”
“This significant time and effort could be redirected to other business and substantial costs could be saved if compliance and regulations in public authority reporting could be eased. Again, I am in no way suggesting deregulation. We only have to look at the issue of defective concrete blocks to see the results of deregulation in this country.”
“The issue is that we still have too many people coming into our constituency offices who cannot get the help and support they need to access grants. I hope that any grants announced in the budget will be thought out properly. The way to do that as regards the design of the grants is to have small businesses involved at the design stage of these grants because they will be able to see what impediments may arise that would prevent them from accessing the grants. You often find that the businesses that least need a grant can get it while those that really need it cannot access it either because of the criteria being too tight or the administrative burden being too large.”
“The previous question is a very important one. Will the Minister outline the means by which the Department is simplifying access to existing grant and support schemes for our SMEs and the steps he is taking to reduce the administrative burden for those businesses? The administrative burden on small and medium-sized enterprises is a major impediment for business owners around the country at the moment, sucking vital resources away from businesses that could be better deployed elsewhere. By no means am I suggesting reducing the needed scrutiny in the context of the previous question.”
“We need to be conscious of this and ensure we bring all businesses with us and ensure the sustainability of all businesses.”
“I welcome this. The problem sometimes is that many of these systems are automated and somebody may not have an absolutely clear record. There can be many reasons for this which are explainable, and at one time people could have gone in and sat down with the bank manager to explain the reason something happened and they could come to an agreement. This was also the case for people with good creditworthiness. This is something that needs to be looked at. With regard to the length of time it can take to draw down credit, I wonder whether any analysis has been done on situations where all of a grant is drawn down by one cohort of people while another cohort of people, such as those coming to our constituency offices, find it very difficult.”
“Many SMEs do not have the knowledge and expertise to navigate the overcomplicated process of securing finance, even more so now that the banks have automated their application processes and removed all human interaction with local bank managers who would have traditionally advised and assisted a struggling applicant.”