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.”
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“The Government must stop the insurance rip-off. Insurance companies are still ripping off the public despite the fact that claims and awards are significantly reduced. Claims statistics show a fall of 40% in the claims between 2019 and 2023 and awards are down over a third. The Central Bank has pointed out that premiums increased by 17% between 2020 and 2023. At the same time, insurance companies' profits are at 13%, more than twice the international rate of profitability of these companies. The Alliance for Insurance Reform surveyed 775 organisations and found that 74% had premium increases in the past two years. Only 14% had reduced premiums. Community organisations, sports clubs, voluntary groups and small businesses are seeing new exclusions and higher premiums.”
“In recent years, an additional €3,000 per year has been heaped on the grocery bills of families. Energy prices are among the highest in Europe. Recently, a whole host of energy companies announced huge increases. SSE Airtricity is up by 9.5%, an extra €150 a year. Bord Gáis Energy's electricity is up by 13.5% or €218 per year. Pinergy is up by 9.3% or €199 a year. Energia is up by 12.1% or €200 per year. Flogas electricity is up 7%, an extra €126 a year. The cost-of-living crisis will push more and more families into poverty. Significant energy credits, totalling at least €500, must be introduced in the coming budget. There must be a new child income support payment to address the shocking rise in child poverty.”
“We have the money and the resources. The Government has a choice in the coming budget to take children out of poverty and homelessness, or to continue to support corporate landlords, vulture funds and the golden circle of the rich and powerful in our society. Evictions lead directly to homelessness, in particular to children being homeless. We must stop evicting children into homelessness. No-fault evictions must be banned immediately. The tenant in situ scheme must also be funded properly. Not a single house has been purchased in Tipperary this year, because this scheme has been completely vandalised by the Government. Households, especially those with children, are under huge pressure from the cost-of-living crisis. Food price inflation was up again by 5% in the month of August.”
“The child poverty and child homelessness statistics are absolutely shocking. They are an utter scandal. We as a nation should be ashamed of ourselves. There are 104,780 children living in consistent poverty, up 45,000 in a year. There are 225,000 children living in families below the poverty line, and 5,014 homeless children in emergency accommodation, up 14% on last year. These are not just statistics; they are real individual children living in real families. Barnardos, the children's charity, has confirmed that homelessness is damaging childhoods right across the country. The real scandal is that the Government is trying to massage these figures and normalise this outrageous situation. This is a very wealthy country, at the last count the eighth richest in the world. These children can be taken out of poverty and homelessness.”
“The husband has had to leave his job to look after Alex, and even with a payment plan with the electricity supplier, the family are in arrears through no fault of their own. In recent times, they were threatened with disconnection. The Minister of State can imagine the pressure this family is under. They feel that their plight and the plight of other families like theirs is not understood by politicians like us. They have said they would welcome a visit from the Taoiseach, the Tánaiste and the Minister for Health to acquaint them with the various difficulties they face on a daily basis. A funding scheme needs to be put in place to cover energy costs - electricity and gas - for this family and for families in similar circumstances. I ask the Minister of State to consider this suggestion favourably and as a matter of urgency.”
“The couple is very appreciative of the nursing and LauraLynn support, and without that support, Alex would not be able to stay at home. He is reliant on medical equipment at all times, and the following list of equipment must be plugged in at all times: an electric bed; a ventilator, with 24-hour operation; a suction machine; a cough assist machine; a feeding machine; an oxygen saturation monitor; and a fan, hoist, shower trolley, oxygen concentrator and nebuliser. The family is heartbroken now. Alex is in respiratory failure and palliative care is required and has commenced. As the Minister of State can appreciate, there are significant costs involved in looking after Alex, not least the cost of electricity. That cost, for Alex alone, is €200 per month.”
“The other boy, Alex, is profoundly affected and has complex needs. His conditions include spastic quadriplegia, cerebral palsy, uncontrolled epilepsy, obstructive sleep apnoea, tracheostomy, dystonia, autonomic dysfunction, urinary retention and catheterisation. Alex became quite unwell in March 2023 and had a prolonged admission to intensive care in Temple Street hospital here in Dublin. He spent nine months there. Thankfully, he came home in 2023. He has been home now for two years in his bedroom, which for all intents and purposes is an intensive care unit. Alex needs full-time nursing care and requires two trained personnel with him at all times. His parents are trained in his care needs. He has two support nurses, and LauraLynn has provided two trained staff to support him.”
“I welcome this motion being brought forward by Sinn Féin. It is a timely motion due to the time of the year and the upcoming budget. It is important to continue to focus on the cost-of-living crisis, a crisis that is pushing more and more families towards poverty. I want to share with the Minister of State a very sad and disturbing story of a family in particular difficulty relating to energy costs. The family, who are in my constituency, contacted me recently and asked that I come to visit them as they were not in a position to come to see me. I called yesterday and met a lovely couple under severe mental and financial pressure. They have three dependent children. Two are twin boys, both with additional needs. They are aged 14 years and were born after 28 weeks' gestation. One boy attends secondary school and with support is doing well.”
“We need a major expansion of the scheme, which would also give us an opportunity to help meet climate targets and take more motor vehicles off the road. To this end, we need the scheme to be universal. We need to reduce the eligible distances. We need to integrate the scheme with the public transport network. The school transport scheme needs to be free and it needs to be transferred from the Department of education to the Department of Transport. It would also, of course, facilitate the building up of a culture of public transport use by young people with a view to continuing that culture of transport use into adulthood.”
“The very same drivers can drive to a school, pick up students and take them to a football or soccer match, to swimming lessons or on school outings, yet they cannot actually drive children to school. The policy makes absolutely no sense. Age is no barrier to employment, whether it be a bus driver or a TD. I am 75 years of age. My colleague across on the Government benches, Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, is two years my senior. I hope nobody would suggest we are not able to do the job. We have been promised a result out of this for quite some time now and I wonder when we are going to get a decision on it from the Minister of State's Department and Bus Éireann. The sooner the better. Of course, we need a much more ambitious scheme.”
“At the start of this school year, there was no school bus service for students from the Ardfinnan-Newcastle area of south Tipperary travelling to special schools in Cashel. Year after year, Bus Éireann blames the lack of drivers and contractors for these problems. These are problems that should have been anticipated and contingency plans should have been put in place. One simple thing that would help is the employment of drivers over 70 years of age. This is an issue that many Members have raised, and I have raised and pursued it myself in the past as well. Bus Éireann refuses to employ drivers over 70. These drivers are fully licensed and, provided they are in good health and certified as such, they should be able to drive.”
“A fit-for-purpose school transport service is absolutely essential. The current system operates about 8,200 vehicles on 10,600 routes. This year, it distributed 142,000 tickets and aims to cater for another 100,000 students by 2030. However, there are recurring difficulties with the scheme every year. This year, some parents were told at the last minute that no service was in place even though they had got tickets already. With reference to an example from my own constituency, children with disabilities obviously have a right to education and they face a lot of hurdles in achieving that right - assessment delays, delays in getting a special unit or special school place, and transport difficulties in accessing the school.”
“There has been no public eye care service in south Tipperary for more than 12 months. The former permanent consultant, Dr. Hillery, retired last September. She provided a wonderful service for a long number of years. She gave more than adequate notice. Unfortunately, the HSE has failed to fill the vacancy and provide a vital service. There is now a huge waiting list, running into thousands, with hundreds of children on the list who have never been examined. The HSE advertised a permanent post on a temporary basis. Of course the post was not filled. Bizarrely, the HSE has readvertised the permanent post on a temporary basis. What is going on? Why has a permanent post been advertised on a temporary basis on two occasions? When will we see a proper facility in operation again in south Tipperary?”
“This organisation deals with young people aged between eight and 25 years. It operates a series of youth clubs right across the county and does absolutely excellent work with young people. I commend the Le Chéile youth mentoring service. This is a volunteer-led service mentoring young people, which is a core service of Le Chéile. It works with young people between the ages of 12 and 24, who have either committed an offence or are at risk of committing an offence. It meets on a weekly basis with these young people in an informal setting to help and support them to make positive changes in their lives. These organisations do excellent work. I commend them on that.”
“The Government must do better. I will take this opportunity to thank the various youth and community organisations operating with young people across the country, particularly in south Tipperary. I commend the Waterford & South Tipperary Community Youth Service, which has been operating for over 50 years delivering community-based services and youth services across Waterford and south Tipperary. These services include community projects, Garda youth diversion projects, community-based drugs initiatives, LGBT services, drug outreach services, information services and local training initiatives. In Clonmel, the service has three centres in Elm Park, at the Wilderness, in Carrigeen, and in Irishtown. I also thank Youth Work Ireland Tipperary, which covers the west of south Tipperary and east Limerick.”
“A new priority must be given to community policing, with gardaí working from the ground up in partnership with communities and young people. This requires the recruitment of a significant number of community gardaí in the future. Visibility of gardaí on the beat is crucial. Gardaí must be seen walking the streets of our towns and villages. Unfortunately, too many of our town and city centres are being abandoned to antisocial behaviour, drug use and drug dealing. There is now a reluctance by many people to walk our streets. They routinely see antisocial behaviour, drug use and drug deals. Those participating in these activities are often known to the public and the Garda authorities, but the position is becoming normalised as little or no action is taken. Gardaí on the beat are vital to the security and safety of the public.”
“There is just one community garda serving the town of Clonmel. I will repeat that - there is just one community garda serving the town of Clonmel. Community policing is invaluable in building up relationships with communities, building trust with communities and individuals within those communities and, crucially, building up relationships, trust and friendship with young people through becoming involved in local activities, local residents' associations and youth clubs. It is about community gardaí being seen and being active in their community. As a result, crime and antisocial behaviour are prevented and, importantly, gardaí are able to identify at an early age young people who might tend to stray. All this has been lost. The few community gardaí left work above and beyond and are stretched to the limit.”
“Community gardaí are another essential element in tackling and preventing antisocial behaviour but, over the past few years, community policing has been effectively dismantled, particularly since the introduction of the new Garda districts. I attended a briefing on the new Garda districts by the now retired Garda Commissioner. It was immediately clear to me that community policing was going to take a huge hit. It was not a priority for the Commissioner or Garda authorities. Of course, I was assured I was wrong and that would not happen, but the figures do not lie. Nationally, in 2010, there were 1,182 community gardaí. At the end of 2024, there were 700, which is a reduction of 40%. In Tipperary, it is even worse. In 2010, we had 108 community gardaí; they are now in single figures.”
“There are approximately 10,000 people in that town and district. This is a town that had a full-time Garda station and 16 gardaí up to recent years. It now has a part-time station with four gardaí. The Clonmel station does not have enough gardaí to put gardaí on the beat. I will repeat that - the Clonmel station does not have enough gardaí to put gardaí on the beat. It operates on a unit of six. The station needs to be staffed by enough gardaí to operate on a unit of ten. Will the Minister of State make sure that the numbers are allocated to Clonmel to ensure it has enough gardaí to operate on units of ten and put gardaí on the beat?”
“Misleading announcements such as this are unacceptable and the individuals concerned should be ashamed of themselves. I asked the Minister, by way of a parliamentary question, the number and rank of gardaí serving at Clonmel Garda station on 1 July and 1 September of this year. This morning, I got a rambling non-answer telling me to go to a website, click on a link and push a button, but that also indicated, "Sorry, we do not have the details for that date and, by the way, the Minister has no responsibility." I regard that answer as mischievous. Why can the Minister not be upfront about Garda numbers? Clonmel is a large town - a small city in fact - with an extensive hinterland, including the towns of Fethard, Kilsheelan, Clerihan and Lisronagh, and parts of County Waterford. It also has responsibility for the Carrick-on-Suir area.”
“The prevention of antisocial behaviour requires a wide range of social, economic and community actions. These include education, training, employment, income, social inclusion, community activities and policing. Garda policing is one of the most essential elements in tackling antisocial behaviour. For a start, we must be open, upfront and honest about the number of gardaí available to police our streets and communities. We had a bizarre situation recently in south Tipperary, where two Government Oireachtas Members announced four additional gardaí for Clonmel Garda station. It turns out that is not true. Why? The station had lost five gardaí to transfers and a retirement, so the net effect was the loss of two gardaí and two fewer gardaí to serve the people of Clonmel.”
“Furthermore, many families have had to take legal proceedings against the State in the courts in order to secure school places for their children. This heaps huge pressure on families that have had to fight every step of the way for everything for their children.”
“Bansha National School in County Tipperary is a case in point. Children pass these schools on a daily basis on their way to designated schools located miles away. These figures are only the tip of the iceberg. There are many more children awaiting appropriate school places. They are placed in mainstream classes while awaiting special class places or they may be in special classes while awaiting special school places. Even when appropriate school places are allocated, school leaders and parents point to significant difficulties in schools, including in the context of the National Educational Psychological Service, the National Council for Special Education, special educational needs organisers and the allocation of special needs assistants.”
“The right to education is a fundamental right for all children. It is enshrined in our Constitution and in international conventions. Many children with additional needs are denied that right today. There are still children awaiting school places for the 2025-26 school year. That is absolutely shameful. There are a further 168 children with allocated school places who cannot take them up because the facilities are not available. There are hundreds more children without appropriate school places who have to travel far away from their own localities and environment. I am aware of children who travel as far as 25 miles from their homes. This is absolutely unacceptable. I am also aware of schools that are ready, willing and able to establish special units but that have been rejected by the Department.”
“Apparently, governments are above the law. I first raised this issue in the House in January of 2017 with the current Tánaiste and then Minister for Health, Deputy Harris. The position now is monumentally worse. Some 16,500 children are waiting for assessment. Thousands of them have been waiting for more than two years. Over 40,000 children are on waiting lists for various therapies, including occupational therapy, physiotherapy, speech and language and psychology. This is shameful, and there is no plan in this strategy to tackle these outrageous waiting lists. When is this Government going to put together a concrete plan to eliminate these waiting lists?”
“Disabled people are entitled to live life to the full. They must have an opportunity to take full part in society, education, healthcare, housing, employment, justice, transport, entertainment and so on. This strategy fails to outline an urgent concrete implementation plan, and such a plan is needed if Ireland is to comply with its obligations under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. The strategy is generalised, non-specific, lacking in detail and lacking in funding, and this Government is again failing people with disabilities. The key to disabled people taking their rightful place in society is assessment at an early age. Every child is entitled by law to receive an assessment of need within six months of referral. Successive governments have been breaking this law for years.”
“We are talking here about less than €300,000 to provide a service that is absolutely essential to the most vulnerable in our society. I am advised there are no alternatives to this course. There is certainly no local alternative in these towns. Any alternatives that might be available are not available to the trainees involved. I again urge the Tánaiste to intervene directly with SOLAS to increase the funding to ensure these courses continue.”
“I thank the Tánaiste for the reply. The local training initiative is a valuable service that has been in existence for more than 20 years. It provides a leaving certificate qualification over two academic years for students or trainees who are not suitable for mainstream education. It provides modules on subjects such as computers, communications, work experience and mathematics. The closure of the service and these courses affects 41 training places across the four sites. It also impacts six staff members who will lose their jobs. No alternative employment is being offered. They already find themselves disadvantaged because of the short-term contract nature of their employment. That means they have no redundancy entitlements and no contracts of indefinite duration. The costs involved in this are minuscule in the overall context.”
“They offer hope, routine, purpose and a pathway to employment and independence. If these courses are taken away, we will not just lose a course; we will lose a network of connection and progress that helps to lift families out of poverty, reduce social isolation and promote inclusion and resilience in communities. The true measure of any society is how it deals with its most vulnerable individuals. I appeal to the Tánaiste to intervene directly with SOLAS to ensure these courses continue into the future, with effect from the start of the coming academic year in September.”
“Despite continued engagement with SOLAS, it has failed to provide the necessary and legitimate funding for the board. LTIs have provided transformative support for countless vulnerable young people and adults. The progression of students through these programmes speaks volumes. Many of them have faced significant barriers, ranging from family disadvantage to low confidence and profound health struggles. They found a safe and nurturing environment where they could truly thrive. The abolition of the courses removes a lifeline and an irreplaceable service for individuals and families in these communities. The courses are also a lifeline for young and lone parents who are trying to break free from generational poverty and build better lives for themselves and their children. The courses offer more than education.”
“The local training initiatives, LTIs, run by Tipperary Education and Training Board, ETB, at Spafield family resource centre in Cashel, Knockanrawley centre in Tipperary town, the Cahir Development Association facility in Cahir and the Littleton community centre, have been abolished. This has an impact on the most vulnerable people in our society. This is unconscionable and wholly unacceptable. Tipperary Education and Training Board's funder, SOLAS, has left the board €1.5 million short of its required budget for Government-approved schemes, including expenditure on increased apprenticeship provision and the roll-out of new initiatives such as the national tertiary programme. There is also a failure to provide for the costs of the new apprenticeship centre in Carrick-on-Suir.”
“I absolutely support the call by the Social Democrats for all retailers with a turnover of over €10 million to publish full, audited annual accounts and that the Consumer Protection Act be amended to compel disclosure of information. That is very important. I strongly support Deputy Nash’s amendment to the motion. We have 250,000 children living in poverty in this State. The figure has not reduced in five years and it is shameful. A second tier of child benefit should target this issue in the upcoming budget.”
“It states 12% of families now use a food bank, that 40% of them either skipped or reduced meal portions to ensure their children have enough to eat and that a third of families are in arrears with their energy bills. These are frightening statistics showing families are under huge pressure. It indicates the Minister of State’s Government is completely out of touch with a population that is under severe pressure in this area. To suggest there would be no cost-of-living package in the forthcoming budget is difficult to believe. That a government, in the face of all the evidence available, would claim there is no need for such a package is equally so.”
“That represents an increase in grocery bills for the average family of about €3,000 per year. Grocery prices are currently running at at least three times the rate of inflation. Prices of items like bread, milk, pasta and butter have skyrocketed. Supermarkets are gouging consumers and making huge profits, which are increasing annually. Unfortunately, we do not know the exact level of these profits because we have no evidence. These supermarkets either do not publish their annual audited figures or they effectively hide their profits, so we need an evidence-based system and information by law where these companies are forced to produce annual audited accounts. Yesterday’s Barnardos report on the impact of the cost-of-living on families is hugely concerning and shameful.”
“I welcome the motion from the Social Democrats. It is very important and opportune. Families across the country are struggling to make ends meet. The cost-of-living crisis is an ongoing crisis that is no longer temporary or once-off. Everything is going in one direction, which is up. This includes food prices, energy prices, rents, mortgages and transport. Energy prices, for instance, have increased significantly over the years and never come down. Our energy prices are one of the highest, if not the highest, in Europe. The Barnardos cost-of-living impact report yesterday confirmed a third of Irish families are in arrears with the their energy bills. Grocery prices have similarly increased by a significant figure of over 36% in the last few years.”
“Students from rural areas like my constituency are under even more pressure. They may not have a local third level institution or a range of courses may not be available, so they are forced to travel to college daily or rent at exorbitant rates in far-off cities. If a parent has two or three children in college, it is more serious. Today's Barnardos report on the cost-of-living impact highlights the difficulties that families face. Let me refer to a few points: one in five families has cut back or gone without heating or electricity in the past 12 months, 40% of parents have skipped meals or reduced portions to ensure their children would have enough to eat, and 12% are using food banks. The Minister should do the right thing – abolish fees. The money is available, this being a very rich country. He should abolish fees now.”
“The new rent regime introduced recently by the Minister throws students under the bus. Students have now no rent protection whatsoever. The Minister for housing is allowing landlords to reset rents to market rates between tenancies. Of course, most students rent for only nine months of the year. The Minister says it is not possible to provide a specific rent protection for students. I am not sure that is the case. We have to remember that private rents for students in the past five years have increased by 92%. The cost of living is also in the background. Other speakers have gone through that. Grocery prices are up three times the level of inflation and insurance and transport costs are up. Students and parents are already under severe pressure. Nowadays, most students work at weekends and over holidays to try to make ends meet.”
“The student fees issue shows how out of touch the Government is and how unfair it is to students and parents alike. Third level education should and must be available and affordable to all. Students and their parents have to plan financially for the coming academic year and are surely entitled to know the costs involved. The failure of the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Ministers for Finance, public expenditure and reform, further and higher education, who is present, and many other Ministers to refuse to answer the question on whether the fee will rise from €2,000 to €3,000 for the coming year is an insult to parents and students. This, of course, is not solely an issue of fees. The background is one of significantly increased rents and the significantly increased cost of living.”
“Local government is the beating heart of democracy. That heart was torn out of democracy with the abolition of town and borough councils in 2014. They were replaced by committees with no powers, functions or funding. This has done serious damage to towns across the country. I welcome the recent announcement regarding a local government task force but there is widespread concern about its composition. It is heavily loaded in favour of individuals and bodies with existing connections to local government management. There are representatives of the chief executive officers, local government management and the local government audit service along with an assistant secretary from the Department. There is no representation from community organisations, residents' associations, tenants' organisations, staff, trade unions or chambers of commerce.”
“Ultimately, the State may have to step in to provide a type of Government insurer of last resort to cover those who cannot get insurance at all as this problem will increase over the coming years.”
“This memorandum does not appear to be working and I believe it requires urgent review. A further difficulty is that the insurance industry is working off a database of maps which have not been updated and still show flood plains even where the most modern flood defences have been provided. Currently, one in 20 buildings or properties has difficulty accessing flood insurance, according to the Central Bank. This, of course, will increase as Ireland is likely to see significantly more rainfall in future due to climate change, thus increasing the likelihood of flood events. I ask the Minister of State to intervene directly with the insurance company to make sure that properties in areas where modern flood defences have been erected have access to flood insurance on the normal basis.”
“This applies not only to properties which have previous flooding history but to homes and businesses that have never flooded previously and are far from previous flooding events. It appears that if you have a Clonmel address, the insurance companies are immediately suspicious and refuse to take into account the very positive effects of the flood relief scheme. Surely householders and businesses should be able to access flood insurance in return for the State's huge investments in flood defences. I know that the Office of Public Works has a memorandum of understanding with Insurance Ireland, representing the insurance companies, which sets out the principles of how the two organisations work together to facilitate the availability of insurance against the risk of flooding.”
“Over ten years since the successful completion of the Clonmel flood relief scheme, householders and businesses are finding getting insurance flood cover impossible or it comes with very heavily loaded premiums. The Clonmel flood relief scheme was completed in 2013 at a cost of €44.5 million. The scheme has been completed to a one-in-100-year protection level and it protects all areas adjacent to the River Suir in the town, including the old bridge, the quays, Irishtown, Waterford Road, Davis Road and over 500 houses and businesses. The scheme has been very successful but despite this and the exceptional level of protection afforded by the scheme, insurance companies are still denying insurance cover or heavily loading premiums.”
“It should be possible that the scheme is accessed by any worker and that workers are able to make their way through the scheme themselves. The situation must not be that workers would have to engage solicitors, accountants or consultants to avail of their rights under the scheme. The salary cap should be included in the Bill. The cap has not been increased in 20 years and it disproportionately reduces the amount awarded to workers under the scheme. I broadly welcome the scheme and look forward to changes during the further process.”
“Again, given the long delay, I believe a significant communications campaign must be undertaken to ensure that workers who may be entitled to claim under this legislation are made aware of their entitlements and how to access them. There are 4,000 to 5,000 historical cases where payment may be due. During the period since 1983, there were certainly very strong periods of emigration, so I believe any communications campaign must not only be local but international as well. We should use every avenue, such as local radio, national radio, advertisements, television and every other avenue, to ensure that workers who are entitled to claim under this provision, and who were deprived of that right over the years, would know of the scheme and be able to access it. This raises another point.”
“The Services Industrial Professional and Technical Union, in its submission to the Oireachtas joint committee during pre-legislative scrutiny, submitted that this was, of course, not a new right, as described in the legislation, but a right that workers were deprived of as the State failed to correctly transpose the EU directive. This also ignores the fact that many workers who could have availed of this procedure may no longer be alive or may not necessarily have the information available or the capability to make an application. Given the length of time covered - as I said, it goes from 1983 to 2025, the period in which the State failed to correctly transpose the directive - the two-year limit is not proportionate and is too short. SIPTU has recommended that the time limit be increased to six years, and I agree.”
“This enables employees to claim payment from the insolvency payment scheme following the employees’ application to have the employer deemed insolvent. This is a time-limited application window to cover historical cases impacted by the Supreme Court judgment. It covers the period from October 1983 to date, a period of well over 40 years. The Bill describes what is identified as a new right whereby employees have two years to make an application, which may be extended by a further two years in exceptional circumstances that are outside the employees’ control.”
“I broadly welcome the Bill, which provides a mechanism for workers to access the Social Insurance Fund where their employer has ceased trading but has not been formally wound up. The Bill addresses the 2018 Supreme Court judgment that found that Ireland did not properly or fully transpose an EU directive on the protection of employees in the event of insolvency. That was seven years ago, and this had been mentioned and recommended as far back as the Cahill-Duffy report in 2016 and the company law review in 2017. Better late than never. The Bill puts in place a new process for workers to have their employer deemed insolvent where the employer ceased trading without going through a formal wind-up.”
“This country, due to our famine history and neutrality, has a unique moral authority and obligation to do whatever we can to stop the genocidal starvation of 2.3 million human beings in Gaza. We must take the actions that are open to us, one of which is the passing of this Bill. We should also stop all flights through Shannon, prosecute airlines for carrying armaments and weapons through Irish airspace - which has now been confirmed by the airlines themselves - and immediately pass the occupied territories Bill. Anything else makes this country complicit in genocide.”
“I accept and acknowledge what the Government has done to date, including supporting the South African case, the Taoiseach describing the blockade in Gaza as a "war crime" and various other statements but we must do more. We must take action. Words and statements are not good enough anymore. What is happening in Gaza is the ultimate appalling vista and it is a deliberate destruction of the Palestinian people by bomb, bullet and starvation. Today, 2.3 million Palestinians are facing starving. All reputable international organisations say that half a million of these Palestinians are facing catastrophic levels of hunger. Another million are facing emergency levels of hunger. The State of Israel and its defence forces are deliberately starving the Palestinian people.”