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SEANAD ÉIREANN · FORMER

Sarah O'Reilly

Agricultural Panel · Aontú · Ireland

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

I support Senator Harmon in everything she has said. I want to raise the ongoing crisis in assessments of need and the impact this is having on families in Cavan and Monaghan. Earlier this year, I was helping a mother whose young son had been offered a place in an early intervention preschool.

SITTING OF 2026-07-16 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

In Cavan and Monaghan alone there are 578 overdue assessments. I commend Cara Darmody on continuing to shine a light on this issue. She is absolutely right when she says children are missing the window for early intervention. We all know that the earlier a child gets support, the better the outcome. These early years are precious.

SITTING OF 2026-07-16 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

Parents should not have to pay out of their own pocket because the State has failed to meet its own legal obligations. Disability teams continue to be short-staffed while many newly qualified therapists and psychologists cannot get the supervised placements and recognised experience they need to practise.

SITTING OF 2026-07-16 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

She has already had two near misses, as she calls them, that left her badly shaken. She describes Cavan's footpaths as being like a racetrack and says she dreads leaving her home now. That should not be the case. This is not just about an inconvenience.

SITTING OF 2026-07-14 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

I also welcome the delegation from Canada. They are very welcome. I have three sons living and working in Manitoba, Souris and Brandon. I bring up the issue of e-scooters. Imagine being afraid every time you step outside your own front door. That is a daily occurrence for a visually impaired woman living in Cavan town.

SITTING OF 2026-07-14 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

People had to take long detours just to get to school. The Department said that inspections carried out in March 26 found around 130 roads needed complete reconstruction, 440 had significant damage and several bridges could no longer be used. I believe those figures cover the entire country. My question is simple.

SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

The complete record

Every one of 719 lines we hold for Sarah O'Reilly, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 1 of 15.

  1. Parents should not have to pay out of their own pocket because the State has failed to meet its own legal obligations. Disability teams continue to be short-staffed while many newly qualified therapists and psychologists cannot get the supervised placements and recognised experience they need to practise. This is one issue the Government could address. All families want is for their children to get the support they need when they need it and not years after the opportunity for early intervention has gone.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-16 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  2. In Cavan and Monaghan alone there are 578 overdue assessments. I commend Cara Darmody on continuing to shine a light on this issue. She is absolutely right when she says children are missing the window for early intervention. We all know that the earlier a child gets support, the better the outcome. These early years are precious. Once they are gone there is no getting them back. Many parents simply cannot wait any longer. They take out loans, borrow from family and empty their savings to pay privately for assessments. This should never happen. If the HSE cannot provide an assessment within the legal timeframe, then the State should meet the cost of a private assessment. The parent I spoke about got an assessment within two weeks when she went private and it cost €1,800.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-16 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  3. I support Senator Harmon in everything she has said. I want to raise the ongoing crisis in assessments of need and the impact this is having on families in Cavan and Monaghan. Earlier this year, I was helping a mother whose young son had been offered a place in an early intervention preschool. She should have been delighted but instead she was under huge pressure because to take up the place she needed an assessment of need. We contacted the HSE and I followed up again and again but we received the same template over and over as a reply. He was on a waiting list with no indication of when he would be seen and no recognition of the fact that every week matters to a family who is really desperate. At the end of March there were more than 21,000 children waiting longer than the legal six-month deadline for an assessment of need.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-16 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  4. Everyone deserves to feel safe on their streets. Joanne's story should be a wake-up call for all of us. It is time to ensure our footpaths are places of safety and not fear.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-14 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  5. She has already had two near misses, as she calls them, that left her badly shaken. She describes Cavan's footpaths as being like a racetrack and says she dreads leaving her home now. That should not be the case. This is not just about an inconvenience. It is about safety, accessibility and the right of every person, regardless of disability, to move around their community without fear. The law is already clear. E-scooters are not permitted to be ridden on footpaths. Yet, the rules are being ignored because many people believe there is little chance of being caught. Without proper enforcement, the law means very little. Many e-scooter users act responsibly but it only takes a few reckless riders to put lives at risk. We need greater awareness, stronger enforcement and respect for pedestrians, especially those who are most vulnerable.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-14 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  6. I also welcome the delegation from Canada. They are very welcome. I have three sons living and working in Manitoba, Souris and Brandon. I bring up the issue of e-scooters. Imagine being afraid every time you step outside your own front door. That is a daily occurrence for a visually impaired woman living in Cavan town. I was speaking to Joanne yesterday. She is clinically blind. She says she is genuinely afraid for her life because of e-scooters speeding along footpaths. Instead of feeling safe using her white cane or crossing at a pedestrian crossing, she lives in constant fear that someone travelling at speed will fail to see her and knock her down. No one should have to live like that. For the past two years, Joanne says the problem has become steadily worse.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-14 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  7. A parent might want to stay at home for a few years with their baby, but the Government has no interest in facilitating that. It will pay for the abortion, give the person a few days' leave and hope that they do not notice it has not removed any of the barriers to motherhood and parenting.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  8. The three-day wait could prevent a woman from experiencing that grief and ever needing abortion leave in the first place. It has to be said that miscarriage and abortion are not the same thing. A miscarriage is an unintentional and often unexpected loss. Abortion is a choice. In both cases a life has been lost, but the Government cannot have it both ways. It cannot acknowledge the emotional weight of a woman losing her baby, then, on the other hand, brush off the need for the waiting period that could have prevented that event. The State's policy has made it difficult for people to have children or start their family. Due to tax individualisation, a dual-income household can earn more at a lower tax band than a one-income family.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  9. I, too, think today is a sad day. Yesterday, the Department of Health published its report on the abortion figures for 2025. There were 10,600 abortions last year - the highest yet since the eighth amendment was repealed. Since 2018, there have been 65,000 lives lost across this country to abortion. That number is equal to the entire population of Sligo. A few weeks ago, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste were pushing for and voted for removal of three-day wait. We were told about how women have made their minds up and do not need a paternalistic waiting period before having an abortion. A few weeks later, the Government proposed paid miscarriage and abortion leave. These are the same people who dismiss most abortion regret and trauma.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  10. I understand that an application was made. That is why I am asking for the detail of the criteria, and what criteria were meant to be met. I ask the Minister of State to find out if the Department could look at this issue again.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  11. They are entitled to know what criteria were used and how these decisions were reached. This is not about taking funding away from any other county that is well deserving of funding. It is about why Cavan, which also suffered serious damage, was left with nothing. I spoke about one of the main thoroughfares in the county, the road from Bailieborough to Cootehill. The road was impassable in five areas and had to be closed. In one of the places where there was a flooding incident, a sinkhole developed. It cost over €100,000 for the council to fix that, and the money had to be taken out of ordinary roads funding. I cannot understand this. These roads do not fix themselves. The money has to come from somewhere and, usually, it comes from future road improvement funding. I believe we were badly treated.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  12. I thank the Minister of State for his response, but he did not clarify what criteria were used. He said that no significant damage from Storm Chandra had been identified and notified to the Department. Was an application for funding made to the Department by Cavan County Council or was it just that the application was not strong enough? On the website, the Department of Transport says that it assessed the roads. Was it the council or the Department that assessed the roads? I still do not believe that the people in Cavan understand why they were left out, because I do not understand it. They saw the roads. I saw the roads. Some were closed for days. People know that the damage was done. If the assessments suggest that Cavan does not qualify, people are entitled to know why.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  13. I am beginning to think it was something I said and I would not like to think that because the people of Cavan deserve to have their questions answered by the Minister. Can the Minister of State explain the criteria used in March to assess the roads and how that will look in respect of the case for further funding for Cavan?

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  14. Some 120 ESB customers in Bailieborough and 1,429 in Cootehill were without power. There were 1,083 customers without power in Shercock and 717 people without power in Virginia. Darley school, St. Michael's school and St. Aidan's school were closed. The Government often talks about preparing for more extreme weather but this is what preparation looks like. It means making sure that local authorities have the funding they need when the damage is done. It is about prevention. Once this happens it will continue to happen. We want to try to stop that from happening again. I have tabled Commencements for the Minister for Transport and he has never once come to the Chamber. I have yet to see him here. I am not saying he has not been here, but I have yet to see him.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  15. People had to take long detours just to get to school. The Department said that inspections carried out in March 26 found around 130 roads needed complete reconstruction, 440 had significant damage and several bridges could no longer be used. I believe those figures cover the entire country. My question is simple. How were the decisions made? What criteria were used? If Monaghan qualified for funding, why did Cavan not qualify? The people in Cavan deserve an explanation for this. I have taken information from the Northern Sound website. The R212 Ballyhaise Road was flooded and closed. The R191 road from Cootehill to Bailieborough was impassible, closed for four days and flooded in five sections. The R552 road from Elteen to Ballyhaise was closed. The R191 Bailieborough to Kells road was impassible.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  16. I thank the Minister of State for coming to the House. It is our second time to discuss roads in Cavan. I appreciate his dedication to the cause. An announcement for additional funding was made last week due to damage caused by Storm Chandra in January 2026. Monaghan received €900,000, which is a good thing. Roads were severely affected and the funding is badly needed. However, I cannot understand why Cavan got nothing. Did Cavan County Council apply for funding? The storm did not stop at the border. The same rain fell in Cavan. The same flooding happened. Roads were washed away, collapsed or were closed for days. Communities were cut off. Farmers could not get around. Businesses suffered. In my area people took long detours for a week when the R191 Cootehill to Bailieborough road was closed.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-09 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  17. Many of these companies have their headquarters in Ireland. These companies are not looking at the ethics of children watching pornography and will not have a moral epiphany and stop it. Unless there is a legal obligation placed on them, there will not be any change. I encourage the Government to support this Bill because there is currently nothing within our legislation limiting the ability of children to access pornographic material.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  18. Many men seem genuinely surprised when women say they do not want to be choked. What does that say about our society? What does it say about healthy sexual relationships? The reality is that it is not the norm, but it has become the norm unbeknown to us, and this must change. The Government proposal is to have age verification for every media platform, essentially bringing in digital ID. I cannot support digital ID because it is incompatible with our rights to personal freedom and privacy. It also leaves the responsibility with consumers instead of expecting these large corporations to take responsibility for their content. The Bill strikes a good balance without infringing on any personal freedoms. It puts the responsibility back on the porn companies to ensure no child is accessing pornographic content.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  19. That idea was swiftly blown out of the water when young women live on air started sharing their first experiences of sex. Some of them had found their partners aggressive, with others describing how they had been choked during sex. I know of a 15-year-old girl who was dropped by her mam to a coffee shop for a first date with a boy. Everyone was wondering if there would be a first kiss or a peck on the cheek. We were all as excited as she was. What we did not expect was that when he did go in for the kiss, he put his hands around her neck. We were all shocked. Where do you think he got that idea from? Our young girls and boys are being completely failed. They are being brought up on content that teaches men that their role is to be aggressive and dominant while teaching women that they should be submissive and abused.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  20. As Senator Mullen laid out, under Article 34 of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, the State has a specific obligation to protect children from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. The State is failing in that obligation. Women's Aid found that 71% of the population see pornography as harmful to society and believe it negatively impacts sexual health development, gender equality and consent. We are all influenced by the environment around us. To expect children to watch pornography and not have it impact their actions or attitude is naive and misguided. Some of the Senators will remember the debate on RTÉ's "The Frontline" where people where advocating for pornography to be taught as part of the relationships and sexuality education, RSE, curriculum in schools.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  21. I thank the Minister of State very much for coming in for this Bill. I support this legislation. I congratulate Senator Mullen on the work he has done on this Bill. It is very good legislation. In a recent debate, I welcomed the Minister, Deputy O'Callaghan's, proposal to make violent pornography illegal, but it does not go far enough. The Minister has mentioned content that shows knives or explicit acts of violence, but in a lot of this content, the violence is implied. A study found that one in eight videos shown to a first-time user of most mainstream porn sites shows sexual violence. If a child accesses porn for the first time, 12% of the content shown to them on the homepage is sexually violent. Of this 12%, the content ranged from sexual activity between family members, physical aggression, sexual assault, coercion and exploitation.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  22. What will change in the Garda so that another family is not put in the exact same position? Every sudden or unexplained death should be treated as suspicious until a full and proper investigation proves otherwise. I ask again that the Minister for justice meets Kelly Lynch's family. It is so important that he hears their experience of failures in the justice system in this country.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  23. The scene was not properly isolated and Kelly's clothing was returned to her family without any forensic testing being conducted. Kelly had 93 injuries and yet the police were far too quick to rule her death as misadventure or suicide. They did not follow up on the family's concerns and critical opportunities to preserve evidence were lost. Since then an independent review by pathologist Dr. Fintan Garavan has challenged the original conclusions, finding evidence that he believes is consistent with a violent assault rather than an accidental death. I welcome the Garda Commissioner's decision to order a review into the handling of Kelly's case but a review on its own is not enough. The real question is what will change because of this review. What accountability will there be?

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  24. I want to start by acknowledging the courage and determination of Kelly Lynch's family and especially her mother. Her determination in the face of unimaginable grief has been extraordinary. As a mother I cannot imagine the grief of having to bury your own child. On top of this, Kelly's family has to mourn her death while advocating for justice and answers. Kelly was just 23 years old when she was found in the Ulster Canal in Monaghan. Almost immediately her family raised serious concerns about the circumstances surrounding her death. They pointed to details that simply did not add up, including Kelly's hair, her shoes, her clothing and the extent of her injuries. Instead of these concerns being properly investigated they were dismissed. The handling of this case is troubling.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-08 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  25. I move recommendation No. 7: In page 8, between lines 7 and 8, to insert the following: “(2) The Minister shall undertake an examination of the Exchequer implications of abolishing Carbon Tax, including an assessment of the estimated annual reduction in tax receipts and the options available to offset such reduction.”.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  26. I hope what the Minister of State said is right and the budget deals with this more appropriately. However, at the minute those burdens have been eased and we cannot keep the people who are working and keeping the country afloat taxed so highly they are unable to work, because it then becomes a hierarchy of needs. Are we going to tax them and tax them until we put them out of business, meaning they go on social welfare and we have to pay for them anyway? That is more or less what I am saying. If the Government taxes people until it puts them out of business, it is going to have to support them in some way anyway.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  27. This is the last time I will come in on this point. I accept what the Minister of State is saying. We are both more or less saying the same thing. It would be wrong not to recognise the measures the Government introduced have eased the burden on people who were put to the pin of their collar. People are less anxious and stressed out and the measures have eased the burden. Therefore, this was not a made-up reason to protest but was a protest based on a genuine need. If those pressures are put back on people who are to the pin of their collar we could have an escalation again and none of us want to see that. It is our responsibility to see the measures introduced have worked and worked well, which I think everybody agrees. We need to do more than tax people again. We need to come up with more alternatives.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  28. I do not agree with him. We do not know that. I do not think that this has been thought through or that the alternatives have been investigated by the Government. Such alternatives should be investigated. That is all the recommendation asks of the Government.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  29. I thank the Minister of State for his reply. I wish to ask about a few things. I am looking for an assessment to be carried out , and the Minister of State’s indicated that this would give rise to a great cost for the Exchequer. The Government can be accused of the same thing I can be accused of, however, which is not having actual facts. What is the nature of that great cost? How much is it? That is what this recommendation is looking for, namely an assessment of the estimated annual reduction in tax receipts and the options available. It is about seeking other options. The social protection measures are very welcome, but we have the new working poor. These are the people we are most worried about, and the carbon tax affects them the most. The Minister of State also indicated that my suggestions would only prolong the scheme times.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  30. You cannot tax people into changing their behaviour when there are no realistic alternatives, particularly in rural Ireland. It is easy to pass legislation increasing the cost of heating a home or filling a car but it is not easy for families to absorb these additional costs.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  31. This money was taken out of the pockets of people who cannot afford milk and butter only to be left sitting in the Government's coffers. At the same time, families who have been approved for SEAI grants are waiting two or three years to get works done. This is not because there is no money but because there are not enough qualified workers to carry out the retrofits. The Government keeps increasing the tax even though the money is just sitting in a pool unused and unspent. That is why recommendation No. 7 is so important. It simply asks the Minister to examine the Exchequer implications of abolishing carbon tax and to identify alternative ways of funding climate measures. It is a very modest proposal. We have to explore alternative options to fund retrofitting, especially when the money is just piling up.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  32. For many people, particularly in rural Ireland, driving is not a luxury. The Minister of State should know that. It is how people get to work and bring their children to school. They cannot simply leave the car at home because the Government tells them they should. All that happens is that they pay more for what is a necessary aspect of their lives. It is a punitive tax on those who work. We now get to the carbon tax. We were repeatedly told that this is essential because it funds climate action yet the responses to Aontú's parliamentary questions have shown that hundreds of millions of euro collected in carbon tax have not actually been spent on climate measures. From 2020 to 2023, €247 million of money collected went unspent.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  33. The Government cannot continue this cycle of hiking up prices, forcing people out onto the streets to protest, before introducing temporary reductions. It is not a sustainable policy. As I have said before, given the amount of money the State wastes without even blinking an eye, I actually think it could do with less money. The Government should take the burden off people and learn to manage its finances more prudently. The Government seems to believe everyone can simply buy an electric car. The reality is that most families do not have €40,000 or €50,000 sitting in a bank to buy an EV. They are not the best thing in rural areas. Even if they did have the money, public charging costs have risen to a point at which, in many cases, it is now more expensive to charge your electric vehicle than to fill a vehicle with petrol or diesel.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  34. People who work hard 40 hours a week should not have to rely on charity to feed their children. That is the reality for thousands of families across the country yet the Government's response is to make fuel even more expensive. In effect, it is really a tax on people who are working. The current plan is to increase the price of diesel by 34 cent a litre and the price of petrol by 29 cent a litre by the end of the year. Farmers, agricultural contractors and hauliers came out in force to protest because their businesses, which provide their livelihood, could not survive under the conditions at that time. It was because of their collective work that the Government had to reduce excise duty. The Government had no choice but to listen because the level of public outrage was too much for it to ignore.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  35. I move recommendation No. 3: In page 6, to delete lines 56 to 67, and in page 7, to delete lines 1 to 4. I support all of the recommendations to this Bill put forward by the Opposition. Recommendations Nos. 3 and 5 to 7, inclusive, speak directly to the cost-of-living crisis facing every single family across the country. At what point does the Government accept that people cannot afford any more? Every week, I meet people who are working hard and doing everything right but who are worse off than they were five years ago. One woman contacted my office after she had paid her electricity bill because she did not know how she was going to afford the week's groceries. We ended up having to get vouchers from the Society of St. Vincent de Paul for food that week.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  36. The real environmental impact comes from reducing the number of single-use drinks containers in the use. The scheme does not do that. If we were concerned and serious about the environment, we would target manufacturers instead of consumers. It is consumers who are always the ones to lose out.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  37. The problem is that across the country most of our public bins are just for general waste. Unlike many European cities, we simply do not have the proper recycling infrastructure in place. Who does this scheme benefit? When I heard David McCullough interviewing Ciaran Foley, the CEO of the company involved, I just kept wondering why he did not ask what his salary is. Mr. Foley was asked about everything, with the exception of details of what salary he is on. This information is still not publicly available. As far as I can see, the only winners here are Re-turn and its successful money-making business, which operates under the pretence of concern for the environment and recycling targets. Our recycling targets for single-use containers at the time of the scheme's conception were pretty similar to what our recycling achievements are now.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  38. There has been a flurry of articles in the past few weeks praising the scheme. Tucked away in a few of those articles was information on a proposal which suggests that the deposit fee should be increased. I can see that the way is slowly being paved for people to pay even more just to buy a can of something. Is there such a lack of innovation in this country that the answer to everything seems to be to hike up prices for consumers? The Irish Waste Management Association, IWMA, has made it clear that bottles placed in household bins are recycled to the same standard as those returned through the scheme. If recycling is already effected through our household bins, then let us stop pretending that increasing charges is the only way forward. The problem is not with the bottles or cans.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  39. I want to raise the issue of the deposit return scheme. Anyone who uses the scheme knows the reality of what is involved. When you go to a machine, it can be out of order, it can be full or it can reject perfectly good cans, particularly miniature cans, including Coca-Cola cans, for some reason. This is inconvenient, frustrating and an unnecessary torture. It must be remembered that this is not a tax that can be used for disability services or schools. It is money collected by a private company, which means there are CEO salaries, CFO salaries and secretaries' salaries and budgets for advertising and marketing and everything that goes with that. If you do not get your deposit back, the private company keeps your money. Essentially, this is a tax. In total, unredeemed deposits last year amounted to €66 million.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-07 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  40. The frustration of the people was palpable. Let us admit fuel taxes imposed went way too far. Kerosene, petrol and diesel need to be affordable and I ask the Government to remember that in September. Carbon tax needs to be stopped and excise duty must be reduced. I advise the Government to listen to the people.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-02 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  41. Departmental budgets are routinely exceeded while there are waste overruns of hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions, of euro. I will give an example. Years ago when I was raising four boys alone and working and running a car I begrudged every penny I gave over in taxes to the government. When you hear of waste and overruns you know would have spent that money really well and it is really hard to take. I have been there. I have been poor and I know what that frustration is like. This Government needs to do what the rest of the country does and learn to live within its means. The pain the people tried desperately to convey in the springtime has eased and the Minister of State must acknowledge that it has eased because of the measures the Government has taken, but it is going to systematically undo them before the end of the year.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-02 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  42. Each family in the country is paying €3,000 more per year for exactly the same goods they were buying ten years ago. The price of 1 kg of chicken breasts was €5 in 2022 and is now €11. It has more than doubled in four years. That might not mean much to Ministers on €200,000 a year but for the average family it is an insurmountable increase. The Tánaiste said retailers should pass on lower wholesale prices to customers. That is unbelievable when this Government takes more than 50% in tax on fuel. A person filling their tank is spending more on tax than the cost of the fuel itself. The answer to a cost-of-living crisis is not simply to collect more tax. This Government has shown it does not spend public money efficiently.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-02 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  43. I thank the Minister of State very much for coming into the House. I welcome the extension of the reduction in excise duty. One of the fundamental problems in this country is that the Government is taxing fuel too heavily. While the Government has extended the reduction in excise rates, it has only kicked the can further down the road until 1 August. It still plans to increase excise duty on the cost of petrol and diesel five times before the end of the year. It should be telling people to enjoy the one-month extension because they will have to empty their pockets come wintertime. The Government remains one of the biggest drivers of high prices. Diesel costs have risen dramatically over recent years and this has pushed up not just transport costs but the price of every item in our shops.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-02 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  44. Since getting elected, I have tried to get a debate with the Minister on this issue on countless occasions. The Minister has said that he likes to meet people and work with them. He has not demonstrated that to me. If the Minister is so happy to work with people, why will he not come into this Chamber to justify the lack of funding for Cavan County Council?

    SITTING OF 2026-07-02 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  45. The lady now has a broken arm, significant facial injuries and bruises because of a completely avoidable accident. Absolutely no one should suffer life-changing injuries because of a pothole that could have been repaired. Local authorities are doing their best but they cannot spend money they do not have and their calls for additional funding are not being heard. The Minister, Deputy O'Brien, recently refused to meet with councillors to discuss roads funding because he had no time. However, he did have time for a photo op of him opening the N55. He then had the cheek to call councillors who boycotted the opening of this road "self-promoting". Councillors boycotted the event because they are not being listened to, because they want to stand up for their communities and because the Minister will not meet with them.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-02 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  46. Yesterday, the Minister and Ministers of State for Transport announced additional funding for regional and local roads damaged during Storm Chandra. Monaghan was allocated €900,000, which is welcome, but I could not believe no funding was allocated for Cavan, which also had serious road flooding issues. In a statement, the Minister of State, Deputy Buttimer, said, "The funding made available today will ensure that priority work can be undertaken ... to restore our regional and local roads, keeping our rural communities and businesses connected and protected." This is all well-intentioned but the reality is our road network is far from being maintained and protected. Only this week I received an email from Drung cycling club just outside Cootehill because one of its members came off her bike after hitting a massive pothole.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-02 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  47. If my household identified as a data centre, I would have access to significantly cheaper electricity rates than ordinary households, as is the case for data centres in this country. Electricity is a necessity. A semi-State company should not be maximising profits while hundreds of thousands of households struggle to pay their bills. Aontú's motion would reduce ESB profits to zero to ensure households get a fair price for electricity. That should make it enough money to cover costs and invest. It should not profit off the backs of taxpayers.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-01 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  48. Today, Aontú brought forward a motion in the Dáil to tackle the cost of living because this is about much more than electricity bills. Over the last five years, families have been hit by once price shock after another. Grocery bills have risen by around 40% since 2021. Energy bills are up by 57%. Diesel prices have soared and overall prices in Ireland are 36% above the EU average. Many families find it impossible to afford everyday emergencies, such as a car breaking down, a new washing machine or fridge or an unexpected trip to the dentist. It feels like people are working harder and harder and getting less in return. The situation has become so absurd that it is now more expensive to charge an electric vehicle than fill the tank with petrol or diesel.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-01 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  49. I raise the issue of electricity prices. We have heard over and over that Ireland has the highest electricity rates in Europe. However, it may surprise the Leader to know that Ireland has the second highest household electricity prices in the world, second only to Bermuda. We should think about that for a second. Households in Ireland - hard-working families - are paying the second highest electricity prices in the world. At the same time, the ESB, a semi-State body, has made almost €3 billion in after-tax profits over the past four years. We have over 300,000 households in energy arrears, yet, just today, electricity prices have gone up again. Who exactly is benefiting from this system? It is not the ordinary taxpayer.

    SITTING OF 2026-07-01 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT

  50. I move amendment No. 12: In page 6, to delete lines 1 to 3 and substitute the following: "(b) such distribution or publication gives rise to the reasonable apprehension that the commission of a terrorist activity could thereby result by reason of the communication expressly and directly inciting the commission of such activity.".".

    SITTING OF 2026-06-30 · READ THE OFFICIAL REPORT