Sorca Clarke
Longford-Westmeath · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“Online platforms that promote and facilitate suicide need to be stopped. I commend the team of The Journal Investigates for its work in exposing these sinister forums, which are banned in other jurisdictions but accessible here. They prey on vulnerable people and they encourage them into irreversible decisions.”
“I agree with the Minister on the issue of consistency. I do not believe anybody in this House would argue against schools with the greatest need having the greatest level of support.”
“This is about fairness and equity. The Minister mentioned the HP deprivation index. In the HP index, Granard scores higher than seven out of the ten areas that have been chosen in Longford. This does not make sense. Sacred Heart has been a DEIS band 1 school for 20 years. Since then, the demand on the school has increased dramatically.”
“Are there some learnings the Minister and her Department can take from this situation so that no other school is left in this position? If Sacred Heart meets that threshold for DEIS plus, can the Minister ensure it receives that designation without any further unnecessary delay?”
“When DEIS plus schools were announced in May, St. Joseph's and St. Michael's in Longford town were rightly included. However, Sacred Heart school in Granard, despite sharing the same DEIS history and facing significant educational disadvantage, was excluded and is now awaiting the outcome of an appeal.”
“The additional supports that would come with DEIS plus, the extra leadership, enhanced family supports and the additional educational resources would make a real and tangible difference to the children that this school educates.”
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“In reality, the Supports for Survivors of Residential Institutional Abuse Act 2025 was a half-measure that ignored the unmet need of all survivors. Sinn Féin brought forward amendments at the time seeking to make that Act equal for all survivors of residential institutions but all of our amendments were struck down by Government. The 2025 Act failed to guarantee universal access to that HAA card; did not provide a contributory State pension in recognition of that unpaid institutional labour; created eligibility thresholds that excluded survivors based on technicalities; and introduced layers of bureaucracy that placed undue burden again on survivors to prove their suffering. A survivor-centred scheme would have ensured the universal inclusion for survivors regardless of what institution they were in or the institution's religious ethos.”
“Miriam Moriarty Owens, Mary Donovan, Mary Dunlevy Greene and Maurice Patton O'Connell are four courageous survivors of abuse in industrial schools who undertook a hunger strike for 51 days outside this very building. They did not do that lightly. They did it as a last act, a last resort. These survivors, who had already been failed in childhood by the State and religious authorities, felt compelled to place their own health at risk simply to have their voices heard, and all for very modest demands, including a HAA card so they can access medical care without additional financial hardship and a contributory State pension acknowledging the years of their unpaid labour carried out in the institutions. Government after Government acknowledged wrongs but failed to implement fully comprehensive survivor-centred redress.”
“As a very proud autism mammy, I ask the Ministers to please stop treating autistic and neurodivergent children as lesser because their needs are arbitrarily classed as secondary. The work of SNAs must be professionalised and valued. Their profession must be respected for the rewarding, although at times very challenging, one that it is. Finally, the Ministers must own this omnishambles and apologise for the chaos they have caused.”
“The Government was willing to preside over children with additional needs struggling to remain in mainstream classes, teachers overstretched and parents in crisis mode until the public backlash became very apparent to everybody in government. Government talks of inclusion but inclusion without support is not inclusion. It is abandonment. SNAs are not optional extras or bureaucratic line items to be trimmed. They are the difference between inclusion and exclusion and between a child thriving in education or just surviving. The lack of respect and appreciation for the job SNAs do is absolutely staggering. The Ministers must get off their hands, get to the table and engage with SNAs, schools and parents. The outdated focus on primary physical care needs must be replaced with a model that takes account of a child's whole needs.”
“Despite Government's best efforts to paint a picture to the contrary, what happened over the last two weeks was not an administrative hiccup. It was a Government-manufactured shambles inflicted upon children who depend on stability and support, children who need the support of an SNA to feel safe, to stay regulated, to participate and to feel like they belong. The Government's letters caused panic and left exhausted parents terrified that the essential supports their children depend upon could simply vanish in September. SNAs were demoralised and schools were scrambling for answers. What did Government offer in response? It offered verbal acrobatics worthy of a three-ring circus while children carried the weight of Government chaos.”
“Government speaks endlessly about modernisation, climate targets and regional development. Remote work and hybrid work advance all three of these. It reduces congestion, cuts emissions and keeps workers and families in their own communities. It gives them the opportunity to support local economies, businesses and shops, and it brings life back into smaller towns and villages. Yet workers are still forced to justify what has already been proven to be workable. If a worker is spending the equivalent of 100 working days a year commuting, if they are spending over €1,600 just to get them to work, then Government's so-called right to request is nothing more than a bureaucratic box-ticking exercise designed to create the illusion of a right but not an actual right. We need a genuine right to work remotely and flexible working hours.”
“Once again Government seems to be immune to the lived realities of people's lives. Both in theory and practice, remote and flexible work has proven its value. Workers delivered, businesses functioned and the economy kept moving, and yet Government came out with this diluted right to request that often ends in refusal. This is the lived reality of commuters in my constituency. A commute can take an hour and 45 minutes each way. That is three and half hours a day, five days a week. Across a 46-week working year that is 805 hours, the equivalent of over 100 working days a year gone. Those commutes are starting earlier and earlier because of congestion. For those paying at least an M4 toll each day that is €3.60 each way or €1,656 a year after tax simply to get to work. That is before fuel, insurance and maintenance on their car.”
“Communities cannot remain trapped behind red tape while risks escalate year after year. Those communities need urgency. We need delivery. We need long-term investment in flood mitigation and climate adaptation. Above all, though, we need a Government that treats flooding not as an occasional emergency but with the same level of priority as communities feel when they watch in horror and fear, time and again, as the water levels rise, destroying everything they have worked for.”
“There is a serious element to this around the restoration and maintenance of our riverways, public safety and fairness because what was once exceptional is now too often routine. The science has been very clear for a long number of years. Warnings were repeatedly put out there, and yet too many communities are enduring a relentless cycle of flooding, fear and neglect. Homes have been destroyed, farms battered and small businesses pushed to the brink, and with insurance withdrawn. Families are still told to wait for studies, plans and processes that all move at glacial speed. This represents a profound disconnect from the reality of the urgency that exists on the ground. Yes, flood relief and prevention schemes are complex, yet oversight matters. The excessive timeline from planning to procurement to completion is simply unacceptable.”
“Nobody can stop a storm but the Government can and must prevent the predictable damage. The repeated extreme flooding events we have witnessed were not all inevitable but they were worsened by delay, underinvestment and a lack of urgency. Communities have repeatedly shown extraordinary levels of resilience but that is not a substitute for investment. People deserve more than hand-wringing, sympathy and sandbags. They deserve infrastructure and ongoing maintenance that safeguards their homes, farms and businesses. They deserve the Government acting before disaster strikes and not after with emergency payments. Yes, they are necessary but they are not, in and of themselves, a flood policy. They are a response after devastation and not protection beforehand. This is not just about those vital flood defences.”
“This Bill is very straightforward. The use of AI nudification tools and deepfake technologies to strip women and girls of their clothes needs to stop. There can be no ambiguity in this regard. This is wrong. We need to put an end to it. The fact that this loophole exists and that the Government knew it was there but has not acted to date is shameful. However, the Minister now has the opportunity to ensure that the State protects those who find themselves in this position and holds those responsible to account. I ask the Minister to fix this law, ensure that nobody else ends up in this situation and make it clear that in Ireland digital abuse is abuse and will be treated as such.”
“The very fact that we are here tonight having this debate sickens me to my stomach. It really does. The fact that somebody in a tech company somewhere sat down and thought it would be a great idea to create a tool that will strip clothes off women and children, and to have that tool circulated online for profit makes me want to physically vomit. I do not understand that mentality. I do not know anybody who understands it because that mentality has no place in our society - none whatsoever. The companies that facilitate the circulation of these images need to be held to account. Those whose images are abused in such a way need to know that the justice system is on their side. We need to ensure that our legislation is robust enough, that justice will be served and the circulators of these images will be held to account.”
“Farmers have had enough of double standards, hypocrisy and being treated as an afterthought. They deserve better. Bord Bia must be worthy of the producers it claims to represent and trust must be restored.”
“Farmers ask one simple question. How can they be expected to meet these standards if the leadership of Bord Bia does not even respect them? This comes at a time when farmers are already deeply concerned about Mercosur and the flooding of the market with even more South American imports produced to lower standards. There is one rule for Irish farmers, another for foreign imports and a third for the head of Bord Bia. This is simple. Continuing with the current chairperson of Bord Bia undermines public confidence. It damages Bord Bia and Ireland's reputation as a world leader in high-quality food production. That is why the Sinn Féin motion calls on the Minister to stop hiding behind excuses, to stop ignoring the voices of farmer representatives and farming communities and to use his powers to remove the chairperson from office immediately.”
“How does the Minister think they feel when they see the chairperson of Bord Bia linked to the importation of Brazilian beef into Ireland? It is a slap in the face to every farmer here. Farmers are furious because they see the hypocrisy, even if the Government does not. Irish farmers are held to gold-plated standards while imports are waved through the door. They are told they must protect Ireland's reputation while the very person charged with protecting the reputation of Bord Bia is associated with undermining it. What has the Government done? It has done nothing. There have been nothing but delays, excuses and circling the wagons. The Government is quick to come down hard on farmers with inspections, penalties and demands, but when it comes to accountability at the top of Bord Bia, suddenly it is missing in action.”
“Bord Bia has done some very good work promoting Ireland’s food and drink around the world and protecting the reputation of those exports but that very reputation is built on the work that goes on in cold yards, calving sheds, milking parlours and small farms where people are farming under ever-increasing pressure. Irish food and drink exports are vital to our economy but let us be very clear: there are no exports without farmers. Those farmers are expected to meet the highest standards. They are constantly told that they must do more, from environmental to welfare measures that incur more costs, and all of this is under Bord Bia’s sustainable quality assurance scheme. Farmers do it. They comply and play by the rules.”
“However, when we speak of suicide and of mental health there is a group of people we do not recognise enough and they are the people who make the badges. It is the people who are not charities, are not NGOs and are not linked in formally with any structure of the State. I am going to be parochial here, which I very rarely do in the House, but I want to acknowledge on the issue of men's mental health Blue Balls Ireland, Blue Balls Midlands, Blue Balls Bull Wall and the newly-formed Blue Balls Wicklow. They do tremendous work and they are community-driven and grassroots-led. One thing has been very clear across every contribution this evening, which is that the current system is not working, that it is failing people in need and that it is failing the people who work in the services as well.”
“We cannot keep sending people to emergency departments and calling that care because it is not. Those people should never be in emergency departments and would not need to be there if the proper structures were in place in the community, if we had suicide crisis assessment nurses and ring-fenced investment and if we as a State examined every possible potential specialist and activated each and every one of them, from our community therapists to our psychologists, our psychiatrists and our wonderful staff who are already in the mental health services. Each and every one of them needs to be activated. The Minister of State, Deputy Butler, spoke earlier about the suicide rates and four in five suicides being men. I do not believe in pitting one area of need against another. I do not believe in pitting one geographic area against another.”
“I welcome that the Government is not opposing the motion but the Minister of State and her colleagues need to act, and act much more quickly than they have to date. At the current rate it will be the mid-2030s by the time we reach the target under Sláintecare. People in crisis cannot wait that long. We are going to lose people. People are going to lose quality of life between now and then. I have heard the lack of service provision being described as "gaps" throughout this debate but these are not gaps but black holes of absolute service deprivation. In some areas services simply do not exist. A "gap" gives an indication this is something that is easily fixed but it is not as there is nothing there to link up in some areas and it is grossly unfair.”
“At the end of November 2025, over 4,300 young people were on a CAMHS waiting list, with more than 1,000 waiting longer than a year. In crisis situations, these delays are dangerous. Ultimately, this is about parity of esteem. Mental health emergencies must be treated with the same urgency as physical emergencies. By investing in dedicated facilities, strengthening community alternatives, proper staffing and ring-fenced funding, a fully fit-for-purpose acute mental health care system in emergency departments can be delivered.”
“This motion sets out a clear alternative, where every model 3 and 4 hospital has a dedicated mental health emergency room separate from the general emergency department. However, this is not only about our larger hospitals. Model 2 hospitals can support crisis care and that role must be examined and a network of specialist mental health crisis centres established, with ring-fenced investment in crisis teams and community alternatives. Children and young people are particularly exposed. Child and adolescent mental health services, CAMHS, are chronically under-resourced and limited out-of-hours provision means young people in crisis are often left without support or are brought to an unsuitable emergency department.”
“The 50,000 people who present to emergency departments each year in mental health crisis deserve a service fit for purpose. Yet, the commission also found substantial variation in the quality of care available, with access depending more on geography than need. I want to make clear that this is not through any fault of the front-line workers who work continuously doing extraordinary work, often under immense pressure. Eight emergency departments do not have an appropriate space to conduct an assessment, resulting in people in distress being assessed in corridors or other unsuitable areas. This is both unfair to the person in crisis and also to the staff member. We would not tolerate this for physical health emergencies and we should not tolerate it for mental health emergencies.”
“This motion seeks to reshape the way emergency mental healthcare is delivered. It sets out a clear plan for a dedicated and clinically appropriate emergency mental health system because too often, people experiencing acute distress are brought into busy emergency departments that are simply not designed to meet their needs. The 2024 Mental Health Commission national survey on acute mental health care found that international best practice is not available in most emergency departments. That is not a marginal issue; it is a systemic failure and has very real consequences. Just this afternoon, I received a response to a parliamentary question that clearly states there has been an increase in presentation numbers with self-harm and suicide-related ideation attending emergency departments each year from 2021 onwards.”
“I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes the report from the Mental Health Commission entitled "Acute Mental Healthcare in Hospital Emergency Departments in Ireland: A National Survey from the Office of the Inspector of Mental Health Services", which found that "international best practice… is not available in most emergency departments in Ireland"; further notes that: — more than 50,000 people in mental health crisis present annually to emergency departments; — hospital managers are reporting increased mental health demand in emergency care; — the Mental Health Commission has found substantial variation in the quality of emergency mental health services across the State, which is having a negative impact on access to care; — eight emergency departments do not have appropriate spaces for mental health crisis assessments; and — professionals and advocates in the mental health sector have sought urgent policy actions, including a better mental health crisis model in acute hospitals, increased investment in community-based alternatives, and examination of an increased role for smaller hospitals in mental health emergencies; considers that: — a fully realised network of mental health emergency rooms, Suicide Crisis Assessment Nurse services, crisis resolution teams and community supports are essential to delivering the vision set out in "Sharing the Vision – A Mental Health Policy for Everyone", and ensuring that every person in crisis receives timely care; — access to safe, specialised, emergency mental health care remains inadequate, leaving many in crisis without timely access to care; and — mental health crisis centres are under development by the English National Health Service to provide safe rapid access spaces for people experiencing a mental health emergency; recalls the commitment in the Government's mental health policy "Sharing the Vision – A Mental Health Policy for Everyone", to provide appropriate mental health emergency facilities in every hospital; and calls on the Government to: — require every Model 3 and Model 4 hospital to have a dedicated mental health emergency room, separate from chaotic emergency departments; — commission an expert review of the role of Model 2 hospitals in providing crisis mental health services, and invest in a network of specialist mental health crisis centres; — ensure every hospital has the appropriate complement of specialist professionals; — ringfence investment in mental health crisis assessment and intervention services, including community-based alternatives such as therapy services, late-night outreach spaces, crisis resolution teams, and community-based assessment, support, and treatment teams; and — develop an integrated crisis response pathway for children and young people experiencing a mental health crisis, including an improved child and youth liaison service, with emergency departments.”
“Some 85% of women affected by pregnancy loss before 23 weeks experience difficulty in returning to work. The need for appropriate workplace supports has been well established and a previous Government commissioned the PLACES report, published in 2004, which set out the social, health and employment impacts of early pregnancy loss. The new women and girls strategy committed to advancing reproductive healthcare and related leave entitlements. However, deliberations on two Private Member's Bills in these Houses to provide for that statutory leave have stalled in both Houses. The Government said that it needed more time to develop its own plans. Will the Minister clarify the current status of Government proposals to introduce statutory leave for pregnancy loss under 23 weeks and when will legislation be expected to be brought forward?”
“Ireland should lead from the front on clean, transparent food standards. Consumers do not want vague reassurances or last-minute theatrics. They want real action that protects them and their families and supports Irish producers. They deserve that, not more spin from the Irish Government.”
“Food imported from Mercosur countries must be clearly and prominently labelled as such. It cannot be buried in fine print or disguised by clever marketing to mislead consumers. Inferior Mercosur food cannot continue to be hidden behind Irish-sounding brand names, images of green fields or packaging that implies local origin when, in fact, it has travelled thousands of kilometres. That is misleading, unethical and deeply unfair to consumers who want transparency and to farmers who are consistently held to the highest standards. Existing EU food labelling law is clear in its intent. Consumers must not be misled. The information must be accurate, clear and easy to understand. Those principles must be robustly enforced and strengthened. Does the Minister of State support imported Mercosur food being prominently labelled as such?”
“I commend all the farmers who turned up in Athlone last weekend. I also commend the members of the public not involved in farming who turned up to support them. They are just as concerned - entirely rightly concerned - about what the Mercosur deal will mean for them as consumers. They are asking a simple and reasonable question: how will they know where the food they put on their table comes from, what it contains and if it meets the same standards as Irish produce? That concern and lack of confidence was compounded by the shameful conduct of the Government, which, at the eleventh hour, sought to position itself in opposition to the Mercosur deal. That last-minute grandstanding amounted to nothing more than thumbing its nose at Irish farmers who had been warning about the damage of this deal for years.”
“I urge the Minister of State and the Government to move beyond short-term fixes and deliver a joined-up strategy that protects children, ensures smokers can quit and finally gets ahead of this industry, which has been running rings around regulation for far too long.”
“I am open to tighter regulation on flavouring and packaging, particularly where it is clearly designed to appeal to children, but restricting all vapes to tobacco flavour alone is excessive. It is also counter-intuitive because it drives people back to the object they are trying to get away from, namely, the flavour of cigarettes and drives them into unregulated markets. Public health policy must reflect reality - no nicotine. The ideal outcome is that people neither smoke nor vape but until we reach that point, we must ensure that adults who are quitting smoking are not punished financially for making that choice. Banning single-use vapes is absolutely a step forward but without coherent taxation, proper enforcement and comprehensive regulation, it risks being undermined before it has even taken effect.”
“We are always playing catch-up on this issue. We need modern, comprehensive and dynamic legislation that deals with vaping as a whole, not just one narrow issue at a time. I again refer to those nicotine pouches. I want to be clear that protecting children has to be a priority. The targeting of young people through bright colours on almost toy-like packaging is blatant and unacceptable. Sales to minors are still happening but enforcement is weak and illegal products in breach of EU standards are widely available. I will always fully support any measure that meaningfully tackles those practices. However, we have to get the balance right. Vaping should not be as expensive as smoking for somebody who is trying to quite cigarettes, nor should it be more attractive to non-smokers to take up. There is a middle ground.”
“Disposable vapes can now be bought for about €8 and a bottle of vape liquid costs about €11, sometimes a little bit more. The measure in the Bill is entirely counter-productive. If we are serious about discouraging wasteful throwaway products while supporting people in moving away from smoking cigarettes, public policy should not push consumers in the opposite direction. Right now, it is cheaper to buy a product that the Government says it wants to eliminate. That simply makes no sense to me. The Bill is another example of the Government's piecemeal approach to this issue. It is the third time we have had legislation on vaping or smoking in as many years and, most likely, there will be more. Meanwhile, the industry continues to innovate, adapt and work around regulations faster than the State responds.”
“I too know people who have spoken about going back to cigarette smoking after the last budget. This will be a bit of a trend. I am a vape user and a former smoker. Like most people, I used vaping as a way to get off cigarettes. That is probably more reflective of my age and generation than it would be for any of our younger people. I support the ban on single use vapes contained in the Bill. They are environmentally destructive and wasteful but also have no place in a serious public health framework. However, while I support the intent of the Bill, I also strongly criticise the Government for the approach it has taken overall to vaping and nicotine pouches. The most glaring contradiction in this is the recent budget decision to, in effect, make reusable vaping more expensive than single use vapes.”
“The Minister, Deputy McEntee, is to reply to the first Topical Issue. She has indicated she needs to leave the Chamber briefly to obtain documentation. The Minister of State, Deputy Harkin, is in the Chamber and is willing to reply to Deputy Wall's matter if it is taken before the first Topical Issue. On second thoughts, we will not mess with a well-designed plan and will leave the order as is. We are two hours ahead of schedule. I will pause for a moment to give the Minister a chance to return.”
“Deputy Eoghan Kenny - To discuss the granting of planning permission for a super-casino in Ballincollig, County Cork. Deputy Paul Donnelly - To discuss a continuing sewage problem in Dublin 15. Deputy Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire - To discuss the tender for the building of Cork Educate Together Secondary School. Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl - To discuss a possible resolution to the question of Western Sahara. Deputy Pádraig O'Sullivan - To discuss the need for funding for a school in Cork due to ongoing leaks. Deputy Darren O'Rourke - To discuss plans for investment in water and wastewater infrastructure in Dunboyne, County Meath. The matters raised by Deputies Mark Wall, Barry Ward, Seán Ó Fearghaíl, Liam Quaide and Paul Donnelly have been selected for discussion.”
“Deputy Aidan Farrelly - To discuss deferral of commencement of the Dart+ South West project to 2030. Deputy Jen Cummins - To discuss community spaces in Dublin 8. Deputy Albert Dolan - To discuss a proposal by Caltra Community Playgroup for funding under the building blocks grant. Deputy Pat the Cope Gallagher - To discuss the omission of a school from DEIS. Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh - To discuss the imminent closure of The Complex in Dublin. Deputy Louis O'Hara - To discuss the need for a 24-hour rapid response vehicle at Tuam ambulance base. Deputy Conor Sheehan - To discuss the 304A bus service in Limerick city and the roll-out of the BusConnects service. Deputy Pa Daly - To discuss publication of the north Kerry look-back review.”
“I wish to advise the House of the following matters in respect of which notice has been given under Standing Order 39 and the name of the Member in each case: Deputy Mark Wall - To discuss the need for an ASD class for Scoil Bhríde Lackagh, County Kildare. Deputy Barry Ward - To discuss qualification for carer's leave for teachers. Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú - To discuss the CFRAM project at Blackrock, County Louth. Deputy Liam Quaide - To discuss assistance for healthcare workers currently on special Covid leave. Deputy Malcolm Byrne - To discuss ongoing human rights abuses against the Uyghurs. Deputy Rory Hearne - To discuss ongoing issues with the tenant in situ scheme in Dublin North-West. Deputy Eamon Scanlon - To discuss the dispute involving Caredoc staff.”
“Now, the latest insult is another toll bridge and toll road increase. The toll bridge where I am on the M4 has people absolutely livid because not only are the tolls going up, but there is not a staff member to be found for dust since Covid. These costs disproportionately hit people living in rural Ireland, and due to the Government's policies and the successive Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael failures to build sustainable public transport options, people in parts of my constituency of Longford-Westmeath have no choice but to use their car because there is literally no alternative. This evening, the Government has a choice. It can stop the proposed toll increases, end the motor tax financial penalty and support this motion and end the rip-off.”
“At a time when Irish motorists pay the third-highest fuel prices in the EU, the Government increased the carbon tax again, increasing the cost of a tank of fuel. Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael policy is actively driving up the cost of putting petrol or diesel into a car. The average motor insurance policy rose 9% last year, almost double the European average. As for motor tax, those with the means actually pay less than those who cannot afford the lump sum payment; those who have no choice but to pay in instalments. You literally could not make this up. These are ordinary people trying to get to work, get their kids to school and do the weekly shop and they are being punished by what the Minister of State - I stand to be corrected on this - said is to the tune of €35 million. That is absolutely scandalous.”
“The Minister of State wandered in here with a script and banged on about established facts and realities. The fact and reality are that if anything Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael had done over the last number of years worked, we would not be standing here. Motorists would not be carrying this disproportionate level of financial burden. Government Members act as commentators while the cost of relying on a car soars. They may try to wash their hands of this but it is simply untrue to put the myth out there that there is nothing they can do. Like so many of Fianna Fáil's and Fine Gael's policies, they are fuelling the cost-of-living crisis because there are solutions at their fingertips, but they are choosing to ignore them.”
“It is simply getting harder for tillage farmers to farm. Yes, the land under tillage is being reduced. The grain prices are on the floor. There is competition from abroad with GM crops being cheaper. There are rising costs for machinery, diesels and fertiliser. You name it and the price has gone up. What we also have is a lack of drainage and water management. That has now become a core productivity activity for these farmers. It is not a side project. If we want seed beds in March and combines in August, we must get a practical solution to the issues along the Shannon, including maintenance where it is needed, timely decisions made on those decisions and a single authority to manage the river. No amount of SIM payments is going to matter a flying fiddlers if the fields are underwater.”
“It is absolutely soul-destroying for them. Farmers along the Shannon know too well the impact of flooding that could and should be prevented. It is not just acres that lie underwater for weeks and months on end; it is farms, livelihoods, dreams and prospects. It is worsening every year. Gone are the days where it lasted for a few weeks and it was back to being dry. In some places it is wet almost nine or ten months of the year. This past week alone the Callows flooded again, yet there is still no single authority in charge of the River Shannon. The OPW, ESB, Waterways Ireland and the councils are all involved but there is no accountability. Farmers told RTÉ that their livelihoods were being destroyed as water levels rise. The local press reported emergency efforts around Athlone with ESB saying the flow was now beyond control.”
“It is not a requirement for Irish whiskey and the likes to actually use Irish grain to be classed as Irish. We now import the majority of our flour and about 40% of vegetables. Adding to that is the ongoing lack of management of our waterways, particularly along the River Shannon, something our guests from Clontarf will be very familiar with in terms of flooding. Five years ago, Deputies Kenny, Kerrane and I introduced a Bill, the River Shannon Management Agency Bill, to put one single authority into place to combine the works of the ESB, Waterways Ireland and the local authorities across those 11 counties. The Minister of State, Deputy Healy-Rae spoke of the mental pressure experienced by tillage farmers. There is no greater pressure on tillage farmers than standing knee-deep in water for the majority of the year.”
“The Minister said earlier that the tillage sector was an integral part of Irish farming. I happen to agree with him; it truly is. It is the backbone of farming in many of our communities. It contributes almost €1.9 billion annually to the economy and supports up to 11,000 jobs. That is something we need to take seriously. Despite that, our local tillage sector is under severe pressure. I know that from speaking with tillage farmers in my area. There has been a 42% reduction in tillage area since 1980 and a 50% reduction in the past decade. The majority of tillage produce goes toward livestock feed, yet we still import 3.5 million tonnes of animal feed every year. Hundreds of thousands of tonnes of grain are used in the drinks industry annually, yet the volume of grain imported by that industry is growing year on year.”
“He can make meaningful steps to ensure anybody living with a disability is not also living in fear of how he or she will heat his or her home, keep the lights on, or put petrol or diesel in their car.”
“Will he increase the disability allowance and other disability-contingent social welfare payments by €20 from this January as an interim measure to begin to recognise the additional costs that come from living with a disability? Will he deliver a lump sum payment for people with disabilities this month to provide immediate recognition of these additional costs? It was cruel, and quite frankly unjustifiable, to pull supports from a group of people who experience such high levels of poverty and deprivation. The Government's budget goes nowhere near what needs to be done to support our disabled community and give it what it deserves in return. The Minister has the opportunity. He can do the right thing.”
“Government Ministers and backbenchers have been beside themselves in the past week saying that not everything can be done in one budget but how long does the Government want people with disabilities to actually wait? The talk that the Government may consider a cost of disability payment in next year's budget is completely detached from the reality of how poverty affects disabled people in the here and now, as if subjecting hundreds of thousands of people to the harm of poverty and material deprivation in the coming year can be simply undone with the tick of a pen this time next year. The Minister has time. Will he develop and introduce a cost of disability payment?”
“Budget 2026 was a serious step backwards for people with disabilities. They are angry and rightly so. The Indecon report commissioned by the Government in 2021 put the financial cost of disability in the region of €12,000 per year. An ESRI study showed that households with a disabled member face significant financial burdens ad are at a very high risk of poverty. For people who are unable to work due to a disability the 2024 Central Statistics Office, CSO, poverty figures showed that one in five live in consistent poverty, two in five live in enforced deprivation and are unable to afford the essentials such as heating and new clothes. The at risk of poverty rate increased by 5% last year to 32.5% and when the one-off cost-of-living measures are taken out that at risk of poverty rate was actually 37.4%.”
“The Sinn Féin plan would move us decades away from the situation of today, from underinvestment and a lack of proper management to a system that is community based and proactive, backed by multi-annual funding and long-term planning. Where the Government fails to deliver, people suffer. Nowhere is that more evidenced than in the waiting lists for psychology, CAMHS, primary care services, specialist services and acute services. I ask the Government to please learn from its past mistakes. Publish the detailed budget. Tell us where it plans to spend this money. Tell us what programmes it is planning on funding and let the stakeholders review that in its entirety.”
“I welcome the residential dual diagnosis Keltoi facility, which I referenced earlier, but we need crisis resolution on a regional basis, not just in model 4 hospitals. There are no model 4 hospitals in the midlands, yet the Minister of State repeatedly says "midlands" without giving the definitive location. I have said umpteen times and will say it again that Ireland is not a doughnut; the midlands is a big place. We need to know where it will be, how it will be staffed and when it will be opened for people. We need that all-island, mother and baby, perinatal mental health unit. Critically, we need multi-annual strategic workforce planning, matched with an increase in graduate and postgraduate training places.”