Seamus Healy
Tipperary South · Independent · Ireland
“Across Ireland, 624,000 people provide regular unpaid care to children and adults with additional needs. A recent 2026 report on care shows that 75% of carers never received respite, 49% cut back on essentials such as food and heating, and 48% experienced severe loneliness.”
“Respite and residential services for persons with intellectual disabilities are in crisis. The United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities provides the right to live independently in the community with choices equal to others.”
“It states, "Our campaign started with a simple question: 'Who will provide the care my daughter needs when I am no longer able to care for her?'" It continues, "It is not uncommon to hear parents say; I would hope my son or daughter goes before me. Then at least I know he or she is safe.”
“What is needed urgently and what is called for in that submission is, first, an emergency funded plan in budget 2027 to address the needs of parents in their 70s, 80s and 90s who cannot wait for systemic change.”
“Down the centuries, generations of Irish men and women espoused the desire for a 32-county independent sovereign republic. As far back as the 1790s, Theobald Wolfe Tone, the father of Irish republicanism, focused on a vision of complete separation from Britain, the elimination of sectarian divisions and the unity of Catholic, Protestant a…”
“He saw partition as a reactionary device to divide the Irish working class. Again, how right he was. This Bill requires the Government to prepare and publish a Green Paper on Irish unity, convene a citizens' assembly, engage with communities and provide regular updates to the Oireachtas.”
The complete record
Every one of 510 lines we hold for Seamus Healy, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 10 of 11.
“Unfortunately, all of those areas have been lost and the few community gardaí left work above and beyond the call of duty and are stretched and stressed to the limit. There needs to be a new priority given to community policing, with gardaí working from the ground up. This obviously requires additional recruitment specifically for gardaí. Visibility of gardaí on the beat is also vitally important. Too many of our towns and city centres are given over to actions of antisocial behaviour, drug use and drug dealing. Many of these people are known locally to the gardaí, but little or nothing appears to be done, so gardaí on the beat are vital for the safety of the public.”
“Community policing is invaluable in building up relationships with communities. Local communities know their local garda. They will have his or her contact details, and they build up trust with the communities and individuals within them. Crucially, their relationship and trust and friendship with young people is built up through community policing. The community gardaí have in the past become involved in all sorts of local community activities such as youth clubs, sports clubs and residents' associations. In other words, they are seen and are active in their areas, and are available in their areas. As a result, crime and antisocial behaviour are reduced, and importantly, young people who might tend to stray are identified at an early age and supported.”
“The prevention of crime and antisocial behaviour requires a wide range of social, economic and community actions including education, employment, training, income, social inclusion, community facilities and community policing. I will say a few words on community policing. Over the past few years, community policing has effectively been dismantled, particularly since the introduction of the new Garda districts. I recall a briefing by Commissioner Harris, and it was immediately clear to me that community policing was going to take a huge hit and was not a priority any more. I was of course assured otherwise, but the figures do not lie. Nationally, in 2010 we had 1,182 community gardaí. In 2024 there are 700, a reduction of almost 50%. In County Tipperary it is even worse. In 2010 we had 108. In 2023 we had eight.”
“The basic point I am making is that there is a large cohort of students who wish to proceed through Irish at second level. There are not enough places at second level due to the lack of second level schools. There is also a lack of courses at third level. In addition, students are unable to avail of the school transport system. Perhaps in some way the education and training boards might be used to establish second level Gaelcholáistí throughout the country.”
“Níl a dhóthain áiteanna ag leibhéal na hiarbhunscoile trí mheán na Gaeilge do na daltaí a fhreastalaíonn ar bhunscoileanna lán-Ghaeilge anois. Tá cosc orthu siúd leanúint lena gcuid oideachais trí mheán na Gaeilge mar gheall ar líon na nGaelcholáistí agus líon na gcúrsaí lán-Ghaeilge sna hinstitiúidí ardoideachais. Molaim an cur chuige i gCluain Meala maidir le leanúint an oideachais iarbhunscoile lán-Ghaeilge. Bhunaigh Bord Oideachais agus Oiliúna Thiobraid Árann Gaelcholáiste Chéitinn sa bhliain 2004, agus tá ag éirí go geal leis ó shin. Molaim an bord bainistíochta, an fhoireann agus na daltaí agus déanaim comhghairdeas leo go léir. Ba chóir go leanfaidh an tAire dea-shampla Ghaelcholáiste Chéitinn agus treoir a thabhairt do na boird oideachais agus oiliúna uile ar fud na tíre iarbhunscolaíocht lán-Ghaeilge a chur ar fáil.”
“Molaim an rún seo, agus gabhaim buíochas le Sinn Féin as ucht an rún a chur faoi bhráid na Dála. Ba mhaith liom labhairt ar bhuncheist thábhachtach maidir leis an nGaeilge. Tháinig laghdú suntasach ar líon na ndaltaí atá ag freastal ar scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge le linn an Rialtais dheireanaigh. Níl iarbhunscoil lán-Ghaeilge ach ag 11 contae. Eleven counties have Irish-language second level schools. Ós rud é go bhfuil neamhaird déanta ag an Rialtas ar an gcóras iompar scoile, níl deis ag daltaí freastal ar iarbhunscoileanna lán-Ghaeilge. Léiríonn figiúirí ón Roinn Oideachais go bhfuil 44,000 dalta bunscoile ag freastal ar scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge, ach níl ach 15,000 dalta iarbhunscoile ag freastal ar scoileanna lán-Ghaeilge.”
“The increased grants under the housing adaptation for older persons scheme that came into effect from 1 December have considerably improved that scheme. However, another change in the scheme, which went under the radar until recently, is very unhelpful. That change is the abolition, for whatever reason, of the new boiler grant for older people. This decision makes absolutely no sense and is, in fact, counterproductive. New, modern boilers are much greener and much more efficient from an emissions point of view. The alternative for older people of an air-to-water system is cost-prohibitive. According to the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland installation, after grants, costs €9,000. The only practical alternative for older people is to continue with older, dirtier boilers or revert to solid fuel.”
“In 2024, the Parliamentary Budget Office estimated the cost of abolishing the means test as €375.3 million, which is very similar to the figure Family Carers Ireland gave, of about €389 million. That is very small money in the scheme of things. The work of family carers ensures that people with disabilities can remain at home and do not have to take up expensive beds in hospitals or nursing homes. It is self-financing and there would be huge savings to the State from abolishing the means test. Doing so is necessary and urgent and will accrue great savings to the State.”
“I thank the Minister for the reply, but we still have no clarity on when this means test will be abolished. As I said, the public believed the means test was going to be abolished either immediately on the formation of the Government or, at the very least, in budget 2026 in October of this year. From what the Minister said, there is absolutely no clarity on that. I acknowledge there have been increases in the limits over the years, which are welcome, but the commitment is to abolish the means test and that should and must be done, sooner rather than later, on the basis of the commitments given both in the election manifestos and in the programme for Government. Carers save the State €20 billion a year and give 19 million hours for free every week. They do exceptionally good work and save the State billions of euro.”
“I congratulate the Minister on his appointment and wish him well in the Department. Both Government parties in their election manifestos committed to the abolition of the means test for the carer’s allowance. The public believed when those parties formed a Government that the means test would be abolished, if not immediately then certainly in the 2026 budget in October. There seems to be no clarity about that now and I ask for clarity on that today.”
“The provision of home care is, unfortunately, a postcode lottery. There is a significant division between Dublin and the rest of the country. Thankfully there is little or no waiting list in Dublin, but seven counties in the mid-west and the south east, including north and south Tipperary, make up almost half of the waiting list. We must clear the waiting list and ensure equality of access to home care supports for everyone, right throughout the country. We need an additional 2 million hours of home care delivered to meet unmet needs. We need home care workers paid properly and a career structure for them. These measures must be underpinned by a statutory home care support scheme. This scheme has been in development since 2016. It was targeted for implementation in 2021 but has been repeatedly delayed.”
“I congratulate the Minister and the Minister of State on their appointments and wish them well. Fundamental to longer and healthier living is the provision of wraparound home care supports. Our population is ageing, as the Minister has said, and the HSE accepts that the demand for home care increases by at least 4% per year. Funding for home care must increase by a minimum of 4%; anything less is a cut in real terms. It is extremely beneficial for people to continue to live in their homes and in their own environment and community. It gives people great benefit and a quality of life which cannot be provided in nursing homes or hospitals. Of course, it is of financial benefit and provides savings to the State as well vis-à-vis the cost of nursing homes and hospitals. There are about 5,000 people on waiting lists for home care supports.”
“I acknowledge the work done by the organisation and thank the recently retired project leader Geraldine Mullane, who has given exceptional leadership and professional service over the years. I wish her well in her retirement. From the annual reports of Cuan Saor and similar organisations throughout the country, it is clear we need additional emergency accommodation. We also need additional safe houses. For instance, Cuan Saor was unable to admit more than 205 women and 230 children in the past 12 months to its emergency accommodation. We need to ensure staff are paid properly and enjoy the same salaries as comparable staff in the HSE, Tusla and Cuan. This needs to be done urgently because it has the potential to create - and is already creating - difficulties in the recruitment and retention of staff. I commend the motion.”
“The domestic violence services in my constituency, Tipperary South, are operated by Cuan Saor in Clonmel. It is an organisation I have been associated with since the mid-1990s. I am currently a board member and treasurer. It has developed from very small beginnings, and through the huge commitment, dedication and professionalism of staff at all levels, into a county-wide service acknowledged for its excellence. It provides a range of services to victims, including a helpline, emergency accommodation, support and information, outreach support, court support, childcare, parenting, counselling, training and, together with Tipperary County Council, a safe house.”
“[of those in] Christmas week; This is obviously an appalling vista and it is really worrying and really depressing. The time for talking has long since gone; we obviously need action immediately. As Deputy Coppinger said, the legal and courts system creates huge difficulties for victims in this situation. It effectively retraumatises them and feeds into a situation where only 5% of sexual violence is reported to gardaí and only 14% of cases make it to trial. We need urgent action and legislation, particularly legislation to stop giving the accused and their legal teams access to counselling records. We need to end the practice of character references in gender-based violence cases and we need to provide adequacy for victims in the court process. We also need training for judges, gardaí and juries.”
“It is worth reminding ourselves of the statistics and it is important that we read them into the record. I will read just the first few sentences of the motion. They read as follows: ... the World Health Organisation ... states that gender-based violence is a global pandemic and the greatest threat to the health of women and girls worldwide, a woman or girl is killed by a partner or family member every 10 minutes; in this State: — since 1996, 274 women have died violently ...; — 52 per cent of women have experienced sexual violence in childhood or adulthood; — 35 per cent of women, have experienced psychological, physical and/or sexual abuse from an intimate partner; — ... Women's Aid ... [were told of over 40,000] disclosures of abuse [in 2023]; — Gardaí responded to over 65,000 domestic abuse incidents in 2024, ... 1,600 ...”
“We also need additional centres. A number of centres, both permanent and temporary, have been closed over the years and they need to be reopened. We need at least one more testing centre in Carrick-on-Suir in the east of County Tipperary. It is necessary to ensure the RSA is responsible for the service and that it puts a plan in place to ensure it meets the ten-week statutory limit. This has repercussions for people right across the country, especially for young people who live in rural areas and have no option other than to drive to the local town or city for employment or education.”
“That is obviously unacceptable. The motion before us, as I said, is reasonable and practical. There is currently a backlog of more than 72,000 tests, which is a 60% increase on 2022. In 2024, that backlog increased by more than 20,000. I am not aware of any test centre that is meeting the ten-week statutory limit. I wonder whether the RSA, which is responsible for the service, has the ability or the capacity to mend the system, put in place what would be reasonable and to meet the existing legal requirements. It is quite obvious the increased demand for driving tests has to be met with increased resources by way of funding and staffing. We have a situation where currently there are 205 permanent posts. In December last year, there were 151 active posts. We obviously need additional permanent driving testers. I stress the word "permanent".”
“Again, if a person is attending the ETB further education courses or the Technological University of the Shannon in Clonmel and he or she is from any of the areas I outlined, he or she is going to have to drive. There is no public transport. Again, this is particularly problematic for young people. Waiting times are anything from 22 to 40 weeks. That is unacceptable and unsustainable. There are two test centres in south Tipperary - Clonmel and Tipperary town. Clonmel has double the ten-week maximum statutory limit at nearly 20 weeks. Tipperary town is slightly better at 17 weeks, but again, this is particularly problematic for young people. It drives up the cost of insurance, the cost of getting to work and the cost of getting mobile in a car. It can cost up to €3,000 to get to a point where a person has a full driver's licence.”
“To take Clonmel as an example, if a person is employed in one of the industries in Clonmel such as Abbott Vascular, Boston Scientific, Bulmers or Medite, or if a person is working in the county council or in Tipperary University Hospital, and that person is from Ardfinnan, Ballyporeen, Clogheen, Burncourt, Ballingarry, Killenaule or Moyglass, he or she has to drive to work. There is no alternative. There is no public transport, and there is certainly no public transport if a person is on shift in any of those industries. It is very important for young people, particularly in rural areas, to be in a position to get a driving test and a driver's licence in reasonable times.”
“I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this motion, which is very practical and reasonable. We should all say that we would like to have an integrated public transport system across the country. However, we do not, and I have not seen see any great move on the Government's part or even previous Governments to do that. If someone is a young person from a rural area, it is particularly problematic to have a situation where he or she might be waiting up to 40 weeks for a driving test.”
“It has been raised in this House on numerous occasions. I raised it here with the current Tánaiste about ten years ago, so everyone knows about it and it is time to stop breaking the law. If a member of the public broke the law, they would be prosecuted so when will the Minister be prosecuted for breaking the law? The first thing we must do is accept that the service is not fit for purpose and second, we must stop breaking the law, partner with parents and not fight against them in future. There are huge issues, such as school places, parents getting four, five and six letters of refusal for appropriate places for their children in September.”
“The disability service is not fit for purpose. Everyone in this House knows that. Every Deputy here, like me, is contacted by parents almost every day of the week who are at their wits' end, totally frustrated fighting every inch of the way for services for their child, whether that be a young child or an adult child. We have to stop fighting parents. A parent in my constituency had to go to the steps of the High Court last year to get a place for her child. She was fought every inch of the way by the Government. That is simply absolutely unacceptable. The second thing we must do is accept that the Government is breaking the law. Every child is entitled by law to an assessment of needs within six months of referral and that law is being broken every day of the week by this Government and has been broken by previous Governments.”
“The town of Clonmel is the social and economic hub not only for south Tipperary but also for east Limerick, north and west Waterford, south and west Kilkenny and part of north Tipperary. It has a rich history and heritage and it is a great town in which to live, work, shop and socialise. Unfortunately, however, the town centre has suffered a number of high-profile closures, including last week's announcement by New Look. The urban regeneration development fund, URDF, operated by the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage an important when it comes to the redevelopment and regeneration of town centres. Tipperary County Council has a town centre project for Clonmel ready to go. A successful application under call 4 of the programme is vital for the future of the town. When will call 4 be opened for applications?”
“It begs the question: has the Government now embarked on a policy of confrontation with public servants and their trade unions?”
“The Minister has not addressed the question at all. In fact, she has avoided the question. My question was whether her Government would instruct the chief executive officer to withdraw the instruction. Today's edition of The Irish Times reports that her Government instructed the HSE only a few weeks ago - in January of this year - on this very subject. I ask the Minister again to address that question. Does the Minister accept this instruction from the chief executive is a breach of the framework agreement? Does she even accept it is in breach of good industrial relations practice? This action by the chief executive officer follows hard on the heels of a similar instruction by the management of the Department of Social Protection recently.”
“The Fórsa trade union, representing its members, responded predictably and reasonably when it said that if this instruction is not suspended, it will necessitate an appropriate response. This is shorthand for industrial action. In view of the clear breach of agreements and non-consultation with staff and unions, and in view of the potential for this diktat to create chaos in the health service and, indeed, seriously impact on patient safety, will the Government instruct the chief executive officer of the Health Service Executive to withdraw that instruction immediately?”
“That strategy abolished more than 2,000 posts, keeping additional pressure and stress on remaining staff. These posts were fully funded and filled. If that was not enough, on Friday last, the chief executive of the Health Service Executive, in what was an aggressive, maverick and indeed bully boy diktat, instructed his regional executive officers to introduce an extended working day and extended working week for staff. That diktat is in breach of good industrial relations practice and, more importantly, is in breach of the framework agreement between the Health Service Executive and its staff and unions. It was done without any consultation whatsoever. This bombshell was thrown into an already fraught situation and has the potential to cause serious harm, not only to staff but also to patients already waiting far too long for treatments.”
“It is generally accepted that serious challenges face the health services on a daily basis. These challenges affect patients, staff and the wider community. Staff are firefighting on an ongoing basis. They are burned out, frustrated and fed up continuously holding services together with minimum resources. Emergency departments are overrun, with trolley numbers in January of this year at an all-time high of almost 14,000. Waiting lists are similarly as high, and outpatient numbers are well in excess of half a million. We have reviews and investigations into hospitals like University Hospital Limerick, Portiuncula hospital and Mayo general hospital. The Government and health service management thew a grenade into this already chaotic situation with the pay and numbers strategy.”
“This is generally thought of as a city problem, but I have lately come across it in the constituency in my own town of Cahir, where a small development has been purchased by an investor even though local families had already paid a deposit. An emergency would provide emergency funding for a massive programme of social and affordable housing by local authorities on public land.”
“It would oblige the State, in law, to deal with housing as the overriding priority, and it would oblige each Government Department, in law, to housing-proof its policies and actions. It would freeze and reduce rents. It would allow local authorities to purchase vacant properties by agreement or compulsory purchase and refurbish those for people on the housing waiting list. It would require the sale of houses to provide for tenants in situ to remain as tenants and stop the drift into homelessness. It would stop the block purchase of houses and apartments by wealthy individuals, vulture funds and developers on a buy-to-let basis. This would stop these individuals and organisations competing with first-time buyers.”
“It means thousands of families locked out of home ownership, either slightly over the local authority limit for the waiting list and not able to afford or to get a mortgage or condemned to pay huge rents and to poverty into the future. It means forced emigration with young people forced to emigrate to Australia, Canada and the United States of America. It is shocking to see that the current Government is again placing housing at the mercy of the private market. That decision can only create additional misery into the future. The housing crisis is an emergency and needs to be dealt with as an emergency. As I have said before and will continue to say, we need a declaration of a housing emergency in law. What would that housing emergency do?”
“The devastating housing crisis is undermining the social fabric of Irish society. This housing disaster was created by the Bertie Ahern Government, which privatised social, affordable and public housing, handed over the housing market to the profit motive of the private market and stopped local authorities building houses for 20 years. The result is the disaster we now have, and that disaster now looks like 15,000 families homeless, including almost 5,000 children. There are 120,000 families on local authority waiting lists and HAP schemes. There are skyrocketing rents and almost half a million young people in their 30s and 40s living in their childhood bedrooms.”
“The former Fine Gael Minister of State for mental health services, Jim Daly, had agreed with all stakeholders, including the Department of Health, the Health Service Executive, consultant psychiatrists and the local community to construct a 20-bed inpatient unit at Tipperary University Hospital. Possible locations had even been identified. For whatever reason, however, this development never went ahead. I appeal to the Minister of State to recommence that process to construct that unit at Tipperary University Hospital and to provide the people of Tipperary with adequate, reasonable inpatient mental health services into the future.”
“First, I congratulate the Minister of State on her appointment and I wish her well for this Dáil term. The programme for Government, under the mental health section, commits the Government to ensuring access to appropriate supports when and where people need them. The emphasis on when and where is very important because it is widely accepted that mental health services should be provided to patients as close as possible to their locality. This is because contact with and support from family and friends plays such a vital role in recovery. The whole of County Tipperary is without a single inpatient bed in the mental health services. South Tipperary patients must travel to Kilkenny and north Tipperary patients must travel to Ennis. That situation is completely unsatisfactory and unacceptable.”
“She had just received a fifth rejection letter, refusing Michael Joseph a school place for next September. Tina says her son is a person and not a number and is entitled to a school place. Her question to the Tánaiste this afternoon is: will he make sure that her son, Michael Joseph will have an appropriate school place next September?”
“On Tuesday morning last, I was contacted by a very distressed parent. This mother, Tina Barrett has given me permission to raise this issue with the Tánaiste. Tina is the mother of Michael Joseph Barrett, aged five. Michael Joseph has a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder level 2. He had been waiting on an assessment of need list for more than two years, which in itself is a breach of the law. As a result, Tina has to take her child for a private assessment, which she could ill afford. Michael Joseph attends playschool for a number of reduced hours and is doing well. Tina’s next hurdle is to find an appropriate school place for her son for next September. On Tuesday morning, when she contacted me, she was at her wits' end and totally frustrated.”
“It appears that the cost of one of these posts is approximately €500,000 per year, and requires €1.5 million in additional funding for a year and €7.5 million over the term of the Dáil. Another question that arises, which was raised by Deputy Murphy, is the bulldozing of all sections of the Bill through the House this evening and the use of the guillotine. That is wholly undemocratic and I am opposed to the Bill.”
“The Minister of State, Deputy Michael Healy-Rae, told us all earlier how he and his brother, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae, were intimately involved in the negotiations for the programme for Government. It was quite clear that one of these ministerial posts is payback for their support for the Government and into the bargain, Deputy Danny Healy-Rae also wants to sit on the Opposition benches. There are also legal issues with these appointments, something which has been referred to by other speakers, in particular, the number of ministerial posts provided for in Bunreacht na hÉireann and the question of Cabinet confidentiality. These issues are before the courts and will be decided by the courts. It is to be hoped they will be decided shortly. The cost of the new posts has also been referenced.”
“What is the basis for these additional ministerial posts? I listened to the Minister and Deputy Gallagher earlier and the Taoiseach and Tánaiste in recent days trying to justify the creation of these posts and quite frankly these justifications amount to a poor excuse, dressed up as policy to facilitate a shabby deal with the Regional Independent Group. The new posts are being created, effectively, to keep the Regional Independent Group sweet. Anyone who looks at the situation is clearly of the view that there is no objective justification for these posts. I know from speaking to Government backbenchers, that many accept and complain that the Regional Independent Group got too much out of this agreement.”
“It is a big loss to the people of area and to the people of Waterford and Kilkenny. It should be reopened without delay. The other issue is the question of mental health. The commitment is to promote good mental health and ensure access to appropriate supports when and where people need them. The former Minister of State with responsibility for mental health and older people in the 32nd Dáil, Jim Daly, had agreed with all stakeholders to construct a 20-bed inpatient mental health unit at Tipperary University Hospital, Clonmel. There are no inpatient services in the whole of Tipperary. I ask the Minister to bring that back to the two respective Ministers responsible for palliative care and mental health and ask that these issues be dealt with without delay.”
“The section on disability services is weak, vague and non-specific. There is no proposal to eliminate the long waiting lists for therapy services. Indeed, the programme foresees the continuation of the long backlogs. It continues to decide to deprive children with additional needs of their legal entitlement to an assessment of needs within six months. I want to draw attention to two areas in the programme for Government that directly affect my constituency of Tipperary South. The first is palliative care. The Government states it is committed to enhancing palliative care services to provide best end-of-life and bereavement support for patients, families and carers. The Government closed St. Brigid's Hospital in Carrick-on-Suir. That hospital provided high quality palliative care in three of the most modern hospice suites in the country.”
“The programme for Government continues the failed policies of its predecessor. It lacks ambition and is deliberately vague with no costings or timelines. It means the continuation of the housing and homelessness crisis, the cost-of-living crisis, hospital overcrowding, long health waiting lists, a broken disability service and the continuation of the health recruitment embargo, the so-called pay and numbers strategy. Everybody agrees the housing and homelessness crisis is the most fundamental issue facing this country. This programme continues the failed policies of the previous Government. There is no new urgency, no emergency measures, no reset of housing policy as recommended by the Housing Commission and the commitment to hold a referendum on the right to housing has been reneged on.”
“Of course, there is precedent for that. When the Fianna Fáil Government crashed the economy and handed over the sovereignty of the State to the International Monetary Fund, there were huge cutbacks based on the financial emergency measures in the public interest. This can be done. The emergency can be declared in law. That should and must be done immediately.”
“There are sky-rocketing, extortionate rents and thousands of people in their 30s and 40s are living in their childhood bedrooms. A huge cohort of families on very average incomes are locked out of the property market and home ownership. Slightly over the limit for getting onto a local authority housing list but without enough income to get a mortgage, they are condemned for ever more to pay huge rents. In fact, they are condemned to poverty. The housing crisis is simply not being taken seriously, and the only way to make sure it will be is to legally oblige the State to tackle the crisis as an emergency. A housing emergency must be declared in law. In the Thirty-second Dáil, I introduced a Private Member's Bill called Housing Emergency Measures in the Public Interest Bill, which I intend to reintroduce at the earliest opportunity.”
“This devastating housing crisis was created by the privatisation of public housing by Fianna Fáil under the then Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. Local authorities were prevented from building social and affordable housing for more than 20 years and this policy was continued by successive Governments. The housing crisis is undermining the social fabric of Irish society. Everybody says repeatedly that housing is the single biggest issue facing the country. The Taoiseach and the Tánaiste tell us daily that it is their highest priority. We have heard that for more than ten years but the crisis has got worse year after year. More than 15,000 families are homeless, among whom 5,000 are children, while more than 120,000 families are on local authority waiting lists or housing assistance payment.”
“It has been said that the infrastructure cannot be undergrounded but there are areas where this could be done at a reasonable cost. That should be done. Certainly, into the future, it should be examined to see where cabling and infrastructure can be put underground. Many other areas obviously need to be dealt with. There is the whole question of trees, the waiver of felling licences, etc., but I will leave my contribution there.”
“Local authorities know the local area, the local networks and the local individuals. They have a very good track record in consultation with communities and of dealing with families, individuals and locally elected representatives. They must have a key role in responding but to do that they need to be funded. They need to have additional specific, ring-fenced and multi-annual funding to deal with a situation like this. We cannot have a situation where local authorities would be responsible for dealing with situations like this and looking over their shoulders regarding where the funding is going to come from to fund the clean-up. Local authorities must have a key role but they must be funded properly to do it. ESB staff, in particular, did Trojan work, but the electricity infrastructure is deficient and needs to be upgraded urgently.”
“Similarly, people who were in hospital and ready to come home were not in a position to be discharged because they could not be discharged home to a situation where they had no electricity, water, services or communications. The State was clearly unprepared for the storm and its aftermath. It is totally unacceptable even today that there are still families and businesses without power so long after the storm. Certainly, we have to be in a position in future to ensure there is a quick and an effective response. A task force including all stakeholders must be set up and it must respond and report urgently. We need a statutory authority at national level to deal with the preparation for and the aftermath of events like Storm Éowyn. At local level, local authorities must play a central role in responding to these events.”
“It has been said on numerous occasions that this was an unprecedented event, which of course it was, but that should not take from the fact that we should be in a position to react to and be prepared for these events and have a plan in place for dealing with their aftermath. Dr. Catherine Sweeney who is a GP in the west put it well when she said that if people have no water, no electricity or no communications and limited access to medical care, it is essentially a humanitarian crisis. That is what we were dealing with. Of course, from a medical point of view, that also meant that ill people, particularly elderly, frail and infirm people were in need of admission to hospital.”