Thomas Gould
Cork North-Central · Sinn Féin · Ireland
“I stand here in the shadow of Cork men and women who fought and died for Irish freedom. I think today of Mary MacSwiney, who went from her brother's deathbed to this Dáil. She was the true embodiment of a rebel. When we talk about the cost of Irish unity, Mary MacSwiney also spoke about the cost of Irish freedom in the Dáil.”
“The truth is the Six Counties have been economically trapped and cannot reach their full potential under Britain. If these economies were to grow like Cork and Galway, they would be a net positive financial impact on Irish unity.”
“The difference that Irish unity could make is much more tangible for them now. Ireland unfree shall never be at peace. I want to send a message to all of those young people. The cost of unity is the cost of their future. It is the cost of the life they could build here.”
“I welcome the debate today. Ireland has a proud history and tradition of myths and legends, from Cú Chulainn to Tír na nÓg to the Children of Lír, which have passed down through the generations. However, the latest myth and legend some people are telling is far more damaging. There are people who claim that we cannot afford Irish unity.”
“Professor Seamus McGuinness of the ESRI clearly stated that FitzGerald's hypotheses were based on a scenario that could never happen. Do you know what that reminds me of? For years, when we talked about climate change, climate change deniers were rolled out to give their opinions, even though all the science was against them.”
“The Minister of State referred to the new 90-minute fares and the fact that people can tap on and tap off. I want to let her know that the fare is €1.90 but next week, it will be €2.40. That is a 26% increase in the fare. How can that be justified?”
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“The Government will not even be here to stand over its decisions. Parents with children who are home from school cannot afford summer camps or the cost of extra food. People are struggling when they go to the shops. They wonder what they will feed their kids. This is the reality for families and ordinary working people. The Irish League of Credit Unions has said that one in five families will not be able to afford a holiday. How is it right that people can work all year and do everything right but cannot afford to take a trip? We are not talking about going to Dubai or America. One in five people cannot afford a short family holiday. People cannot afford to pay their energy bills. They cannot afford diesel or petrol and are struggling to put food on their table. What is the Government doing?”
“People are struggling. Sometimes I ask myself whether the Government has any idea what is happening. The Minister of State is from west Cork. How do people who do not drive a car or van in west Cork get to work, school, college or hospital? People cannot depend on public transport. The Government is behaving in a sneaky way. It will put up the price of diesel and petrol while the Government is on holidays. The Minister of State should stand up and be a man. If the Government is going to increase the price, it should increase it. The Government should come in here and do it rather than when its members are out sunning themselves. Why will the Government not accept that and stand over its decisions? Is it afraid of doing so? The price of petrol and diesel will increase on 1 September.”
“This Friday is the closing date for objections to the disgraceful plan to demolish the historic old Cork prison site and to build two new prisons in the middle of a residential area in The Glen and surrounding areas. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are determined to strip away our history and destroy working class communities. They are using questionable legislation - a loophole - that means objections must be sent to Longford by post. I posted my objection last Friday and it still has not arrived. It took nearly a week for my objection on environmental grounds to arrive and by the time it had arrived, the closing date had passed. Will the Taoiseach give a commitment to instruct the Irish Prison Service, IPS, so that any objection that arrives after the closing date of 3 July will be accepted?”
“I spoke to Craig, Paudie's father, a while ago. He feels that those in the Government who have met with him have been genuinely sympathetic and supportive. I do not want to dismiss that here. I do not want to make politics of this. However, at the end of the day, the Minister has this ability under the compassionate access programme. No family or child should be denied hope because of money issues. I sincerely ask the Minister to consider this.”
“He can go to school and can just about go on a holiday. He can do a few things. He is looking at his friends growing into big strong men while he declines. Paudie should be given access to the drug Skyclarys under the compassionate access programme. We know this drug would have a huge positive effect on Paudie's quality of life. I know the Minister is a compassionate woman. She is a compassionate Minister. We need to make this drug available to Paudie on an exceptional basis. The Minister has the power to do this. It has happened in other European countries. Will the Minister talk to the Department about approving the drug under the compassionate access programme to give Paudie a longer life and a better quality of life? I know we are all going to die but this child is going to die and there is a drug that could really help.”
“I have spoken to the Minister about Paudie Coady. He is 16 years old and has been diagnosed with Friedreich's ataxia. His brother passed away from the same condition last year. It is a terminal condition. It is unbelievable that his father, Craig, has buried one son, has another son who is dying and that his wife is now in care because she has Huntington's disease. I cannot even get my mind around the tragedy facing this family. I know why Craig gets up every day. He gets up every day because he wants to do his very best for Paudie and for his wife. There is now a drug that can reduce Paudie's symptoms, give him a longer life and improve his quality of life. I have spoken to the Minister and to the Taoiseach and other people have raised this issue in here in respect of different people. Paudie can walk for about ten minutes.”
“They said that they tried to talk to the lads on the scramblers to tell them that it is dangerous but that all they are getting is abuse. We have a serious issue now. Local gardaí tell me they do not have the resources. I am asking the Tánaiste for two things. First, will the Government give the Garda the resources to tackle this and to stop it and to tackle these scramblers? Second, will it give local authorities funding to put in tracks or trails? Some people do not want to play sport. They want to be in the arts or they want to drive cars or bikes. They have to be given an outlet, and right now there is nowhere for them to go. What must happen immediately is that the use of scramblers must be stopped, because I fear there could be another tragedy.”
“There is a huge issue with scramblers in my constituency. Following the new laws that came in earlier this year in the aftermath of the tragic death of 16-year-old Grace Lynch, communities were hoping that this would see a reduction in the use of scramblers. However, I have had to phone the Garda numerous times in the intervening period. On Monday night last, I had to phone the Garda three times because of scramblers being driven in a dangerous manner in communities right across the northside, including on St. Mary's Road, Sprigg's Road and Kilmore Road. In Fairfield, there is a beautiful park that Cork City Council put in, a walk-around for people, but the scramblers are using it like a track. I met with people there two weeks ago.”
“I know not everyone can come with us because some people oppose it but I ask everyone to respect the debate and process because at the end of the day, this is about women's healthcare and trusting women to do the right thing. I want to send a clear message: this is above politics, politicians and above me as a man. This is about women being respected and being given the support and the trust we should all have in them.”
“I will be there to support them and to be with them but at the end of the day, this is their decision and that is what we must respect - women's decisions. I think about Ann Lovett, who died 42 years ago in a grotto. I think about Sheila Hodgers, who left two children behind her. I think of Savita Halappanavar, who would have turned 44 years of age this year. So many other stories over the decades were brushed under the carpet and that we never knew about but some people know - maybe their families or friends know. Those women who had tragic deaths, and all those tragic stories, are why we are here this evening to support this legislation. I thank the Taoiseach, Tánaiste, the Minister for Health and the Minister of State for coming along with us.”
“I am standing here as a man, and to be honest, I cannot imagine a situation where I would be told by my doctor to go away to have a think about things and come back in three days. It is just wrong, it does not make sense and it is not right. Why would anyone be told, when it is a health issue, to go away and think about it? How patronising is that? This legislation is about protecting women, helping them at a very difficult time and giving them all the support we can. I am a father of two daughters - two brilliant girls. One is a teenager and the older girl is 20-years old. They are kind and intelligent. I trust them, I trust their friends and I trust their peers. I trust women to make their own decisions. Why am I getting involved in their healthcare?”
“We have one of the most iconic buildings in Shandon but it is not being utilised to the maximum. We have the Butter Museum. Butter was brought from all over Munster, but especially from Kerry and Cork, to the butter market in Cork when the British ruled us, and it was sent from there to the four corners of the world. From an agricultural and historical point of view, Shandon should be utilised more. However, I am not impressed with the way this Government has acted around Moore Street, the GPO and the two new prisons that are going into the old prison site. It is time to stand up for our heritage. Let us be proud that we are Irish republicans. Let us be proud of the fight for Irish freedom and let the world know about it.”
“A huge number of people left for the four corners of the world from Cork Harbour but when they come back, there is nowhere for them to go to trace their heritage or learn about the proud republican history that we have. What I want to see is investment in Cork. There is an independent councillor in Cork, Kieran McCarthy, who runs walking tours around the city. There is brilliant take-up but we need much more of that. We need the buy-in. There is huge interest in historical tourism. People want to find out what is really behind the Irish. Whether it is our republican history, the arts or our authors, we have a product here. A lot of it is in Dublin and it is great to see but I am looking for investment in Cork. We have Shandon Tower and I am looking for investment in that area and in Cork more generally.”
“There is the likes of Ardmhéara Tomás MacCurtain who was shot in his bed by the British and the Irish Royal Constabulary, IRC. There was Terence MacSwiney who died on hunger strike in Brixton Prison. There were the Wallace sisters, the Delaney brothers and Ballycannon boys. It goes on and on. The republican history in Cork is immense but we have nowhere for people to go to learn about it. A number of months ago I met a family who had returned from America, one of whom was the granddaughter of a volunteer who had brought back the medal he got for fighting for Irish independence. Members of the Irish diaspora, no matter where they are in the world and no matter where they have migrated to, have stories about home. When they come back here to visit they want to go to a diaspora centre.”
“Tourism is such an important part of the Irish economy. It is such an important industry. More needs to be done to develop it, especially in my own city of Cork. In 1916, Thomas Kent's home was raided and his brother was seriously injured. He and his brothers were taken away. Thomas Kent was convicted and found guilty by the British. He was later shot in the grounds of the old Cork prison in the Glen. That was on 9 May 1916. He was the only person from Cork to be shot and executed as part of the 1916 Rising. For 99 years, his body was buried in that prison's grounds. That should be a historic centre. It is not just Thomas Kent was executed on that site; he was also imprisoned there. This is a building that should now be used not just for the community but for tourism.”
“We are allowing Israel to come over and play soccer? Fair play to RTÉ as it had the guts to say it will not go into a competition with Israel. Now, we need the Government to have the guts to do the same. I stand with the Irish players, all the athletes, fans and sporting organisations. It is not their job. It is the Government's job as the Irish Government. Where is it? Stand up, say no to genocide and say this game will not go ahead. To all the Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael backbenchers who have come in here and cried crocodile tears for the past number of years, do not come in here and talk again unless they are willing to stand with this motion. This Government must stop the game.”
“It took 11 working class women to stand up to a regime that the Americans and British supported. We are back here again all of these years later and the same countries are telling Ireland what to do because there is no other explanation for why this is happening. You can look at what happened with Yugoslavia and how Bertie Ahern stepped in as the Fianna Fáil Taoiseach at the time and stopped the team from coming here. Why does Micheál Martin not stand up and say the Israeli team is not welcome here? The Irish basketball players had to play them over the past 12 months. Where was the Irish Government to support them? At least 75,000 people have died, including 22,000 children. When you think about it - 22,000 children - it is unimaginable. I cannot imagine it. I have two children and 22,000 children have died.”
“We must stop the game; it is as simple as that. The Irish Government must step in now. As the Social Democrats have outlined, all sporting events with Israel should be stopped. We should lead a campaign in Europe and the world to have Israel banned and boycotted, the exact same way it was done with the Russians. There are double standards here. The question we must ask ourselves is: where do these double standards come from? Is it Europe? Is it America? Is it big business? Is it the Israeli lobby? Or is it that this Government has no backbone to stand up and face it down? When you think back to Mary Manning and her ten colleagues of female workers, for three years, they went on strike against Dunnes Stores, South Africa and the apartheid state and the Irish Government did not have the guts to back them.”
“We have a bus service that is in chaos, with buses not turning up and buses always late, and then the Government puts extra taxes on people for their diesel and their petrol. We need supports for ordinary people. Energy credits, a cost-of-living budget for people with disabilities and a reduction in the USC for ordinary, hard-working people - these are the things that need to be delivered. I have a list of stuff here where the Government has failed. Will it not stand up now and stand with the people? We are running a huge surplus and the Government is sitting on it.”
“I was outside SuperValu in Hollyhill and a guy who is not a farmer, haulier or owner of a small business but an ordinary working man said to me that he stood by the farmers. The reason he stood by them was that somebody had to stand up and be counted and they were there. Over the summer the price of diesel will go up by 32 cent and the price of petrol will go up by 20 cent, and the Government uses the camouflage of the summer holidays again. It will run out of here, run out the door. I am asking the Minister of State a straight question. Will he give a commitment that those prices will not go up? We also had the carbon tax increases. Has the Government any idea what ordinary people are dealing with? I live in Cork.”
“-----Electric Ireland has 1 million customers and it is putting up the cost of electricity by 8% and gas by 7.7% and the Government is doing nothing to tackle it. What is the famous phrase? It is standing idly by while energy companies come in and gouge the market. They pile the pressure on ordinary, hard-working families and what is the Government doing? It has half a Bill instead of delivering for people. We have pensioners who are afraid to turn on the lights, boil kettles or turn on the heating. The weather might be good today but if the Minister of State was around the past couple of days, he knows there was many a night when people had to put on the heating. Where is the support for ordinary, hard-working people and families? This Bill is not it.”
“The Minister of State’s Government was not where it should have been, namely in the Dáil doing its job, protecting ordinary workers, families, pensioners, farmers, hauliers and small businesses who were, and who still are, looking for help. The Minister of State can try to interrupt me but I talk to these people. I was on the line in Whitegate, Cork city and Youghal. Those people are still feeling it today. There are more than 300,000 people in arrears with electricity. A quarter of people who get gas are in arrears. There are people who use home heating oil who cannot pay their bills. Some people have to use their savings and some have to borrow from the credit union or family but some have to go cold because they do not have the money to put home heating oil in the tank. I know some of those people.”
“The first thing I want to say on the Finance Bill we are discussing is that it goes to show how this Government just does not get it. It is another failure at a time when the Government had the money and knew people were struggling. It could have stepped in. If people throw their minds back to late February and March when people came on to the street, remember the anger that was there. The Minister of State and the Government went on holidays for St. Patrick’s Day to get out of here while people were paying double for home heating oil and struggling to pay their bills.”
“When the Vita Cortex workers lost their jobs years ago, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael said they would make changes to legislation to protect workers. They still have not done it. Instead, they gave sweetheart deals to big business and vulture funds that picked NAMA dry. "Vulture funds" is the perfect name because they cleaned out NAMA. Deputy Doherty will soon table amendments, which we believe are fair and right, to protect workers. I know people who lost their jobs and houses and whose marriage or relationship ended. They lost everything. I know people who died by suicide as a result of the banking and financial crisis. We should never forget that Europe threw us under the bus. We were the only country that took on all our debt, while others were given a way out. NAMA might be gone but the USC is still here.”
“Why is it always ordinary hard-working people who must foot the bill while the bankers, developers, speculators and vulture funds laugh all the way to the bank? The CEO of NAMA is moving to the NTMA on a salary of €430,000. All the NAMA staff will keep their terms and conditions of employment. I do not know what the CEO will be doing in his new role. He could be over there making tea. How can his appointment be justified? People are being laid off this week at Meta. Ambulance drivers are out fighting for their rights, and have been fighting for years, but the Government will not give them the terms and conditions to which they are entitled. However, there are jobs for the NAMA lads. They can be given anything they want. Where is the fairness? I recall standing on the picket lines with the Debenhams workers.”
“There is a site not far from here in Dublin Central that has been empty for ten years. It could be used to build public homes for the families and workers in Dublin who need them. Empty NAMA sites were sold off across the State and they are being sat on by speculators and vulture funds as they laugh all the way to the bank. I was elected to Cork City Council in 2009. I remember clearly the devastation caused by austerity at that time. Then Michael Noonan rolled out the red carpet for the vulture funds to come in and operate tax free. To this day, they still operate on a tax-free basis. The Government lets them off. The ordinary working men and women, however, are not free of tax. They still have to pay the USC. We are here today to talk about the winding down of NAMA. Why is there no winding down of the USC?”
“When NAMA came into being, the State was in a really dark place. The economy had collapsed, there were no jobs and people were really struggling. We had ghost estates and sites that were half developed. Fianna Fáil destroyed the economy. I remember it as clear as day. I remember friends of mine losing their jobs. To add insult to injury, when Fine Gael came into government in 2011, all it gave a damn about was austerity. The ordinary working men and women of this country were thrown under a bus. The most vulnerable, including pensioners and people with disabilities, suffered the most. I remember that. Now the economy is going well and there are jobs, but a lot of people are struggling more than ever. There are empty houses on a huge scale but there still are ghost estates, including in Carrignavar and right across the State.”
“What the Government is doing is against the people's will. We want a referendum. Let the people have their say and let them decide, not our Taoiseach and our Tánaiste who are trying to be the good boys for the EU. What is their point? I cannot understand what their point is when they know the Irish people do not want this. It just goes to prove how lost this Government is, when it goes off to Europe and forgets about the people of Ireland and what they want. Our neutrality is at the core. There is a bigger picture here. This is not just about what Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael want but what the people of Ireland want. That should be sacred.”
“In 2013, the current Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, described the triple lock as being at the core of our neutrality. At the time, there were protests in Kyiv, and the following year the annexation of Crimea took place. There was a war in Afghanistan and there was a civil war in Syria, with the Russians and the Americans involved in it. Now he is saying times have drastically changed but that is not true. Things were as bad then as they are now on the world stage when it comes to wars. For as long as I have been alive, leaders of powerful imperialist countries have waged wars and Ireland has remained neutral. During the Lisbon and Nice treaty campaigns, a solemn commitment was given to the people of Ireland that the triple lock would protect our neutrality and now the Government is trying to get rid of it. It is wrong.”
“It is unbelievable that the Minister would say my conclusions are wrong. I am using CSO figures. The Minister does not have any figures to contradict mine, so I am right. They prove the Government's policy on dereliction is failing. I will give another figure to prove how the Government is failing. Some 2,361 homes were self-assessed as liable for the vacant homes tax in 2025. According to CSO figures - the CSO is probably making all this up, if we go with what the Minister believes - in the fourth quarter of 2024, there were 70,000 vacant homes. Under the Government's vacant homes policy, 2,361 homes were liable out of 70,000. If those 70,000 were delivered-----”
“We have the lowest number for any first quarter and the Minister says it is not a measure. The Minister can disagree with me, but he should not say these figures are not right because they are right. The Government is not delivering. This proves the Government is not delivering on dereliction because the vast majority of these derelict sites are not connected to an electrical supply, so if there were no reconnections or the number of reconnections was low,-----”
“This is a CSO figure that shows the lowest number for any first quarter in 15 years. That is a measurement. Regardless of whether the Minister agrees with it or wants to accept it is his issue, but these are the facts. I printed them off.”
“Will he stop blaming them for not doing so when he has the ability to make the funds available to enable it? This is an easy win. I cannot understand why he will not do it.”
“The Minister mentioned the NOAC report. I will refer to some of the figures in that report. In 2024, there were 4,251 empty council houses, which was an increase from the previous year. One in four of those homes was empty longer than a year. I know of houses in my constituency that have been empty and boarded up for years. The problem is a lot of local authorities do not have the excess funding to bring the long-term, older, more complicated and more expensive homes back into use. If the Minister is only giving €11,000 per unit and the average cost, according to NOAC, is €31,000, from where will the local authorities get the funding shortfall? Many councils are struggling and do not have the money. Will the Minister commit to funding local authorities to do that work?”
“The Minister talked to colleagues earlier about policy. I launched a policy to return vacant, boarded-up homes to use in housing families. This is the low-hanging fruit and I still cannot understand why the Minister, his Department and the other Ministers in the Government do not tackle it. The voids programme for 2026 will allow for the return of 2,200 homes, with local authorities receiving only €11,000 per unit when there are more than 4,500 houses boarded up and vacant. Why is the Minister not being more ambitious? This is a fundamental disagreement. He will not fund local authorities to return those homes to use. This could be a success story. We could house 4,500 families if he were willing to put up the money.”
“On page 76 of the Government's housing plan, there is a commitment to develop a new voids funding programme that would "incentivise lower vacancy rates and faster turnaround times for vacant local authority stock". The plan was launched 187 days ago on 13 November 2025. In that time, only one action has been taken on the voids scheme.”
“There might be a gravy train for developers, speculators and investment funds but where is the gravy train for ordinary people? In fact, they do not even want that. They are just looking for a roof over their head. We want to put people first. If Sinn Féin were in government, we would stop homelessness and stop this craziness. We put families and people before investors. It is as simple as that.”
“I can imagine how those 7,000 families felt when they read at the weekend that the CEOs of some of these development companies earn and take bonuses of €41 million. Where is the fairness in that? A mother contacted me to say, "Every day, I search for somewhere for us to live and, every night, I lie awake and wonder what will happen to my little boy if I cannot find a home in time". How must she feel hearing about that €41 million? I have heard from a pensioner who has worked all his life and is now facing eviction. How can we live in a country where people work all their life and are made homeless when they come to pension age? How can that be right? Another man who contacted me is working two jobs but cannot keep a roof over his head and does not know where he will go when his eviction notice expires.”
“The Government amendment to the motion is an insult to the more than 7,000 families who received notices to quit in the first three months of the year and the thousands of families who received such notices at the end of last year. Those people are facing eviction and do not know where they will be in four, five, six, seven or eight months' time. They are asking where they are going to live and where their children will play and go to school. The Government claims the figures in March were not as bad as previously. It pats itself on the back in relation to tax breaks for developers and speculators who have apartments that already were profitable. Can the Minister of State imagine how those families feel hearing that? Where is the justice and fairness?”
“We have all heard in recent weeks about the scandal on Connaught Street in Dublin. Dublin City Council has finally agreed to meet with the residents today but this is not the only such site in the heart of Dublin city centre. No. 6 Terrace Place sits at the end of a row of beautifully maintained homes off Seán McDermott Street. It was added to the derelict sites register in 2008 and was subject to a compulsory purchase order in 2023. I have pictures here just to give the Taoiseach an idea of what it is like. It was falling down in 2009 and was worsen again in 2014 and then 2018. This picture is from 2022. The building was left to rot and collapse. Will there be real penalties for speculators and landholders who let buildings that could be homes for families become derelict because this is happening across the country?”
“Why has there never been a college campus on the northside of Cork city? I cannot get answers. This amendment will allow people to come into this House to discuss issues openly and transparently. This is not to kick the Government. This is to work with the Government and to say that we need fairness and transparency.”
“We have the same issue with northern distributor road. We have an elective hospital that was promised 20 years ago. It is vital that these pieces of infrastructure are delivered not alone for northside of Cork city but for Munster. Someone made a point about delivering infrastructure quickly. That is impossible. It will never happen on this island, especially in the Twenty-six Counties, but we could aim to deliver it in a reasonable amount of time. I represent people and we cannot get more jobs into the northside of Cork city. We cannot get more investment in. Why? It is because we do not have the infrastructure to support the business. I want to make one last point. We want to see a college campus on the northside of the city. Education is the key to success for individuals and the country. Why has the northside never got funding?”
“Transparency is so important because this was part of a plan 20 years ago, and now it is not, and the Government has allocated a couple of hundred thousand euro to a project. People might say, "You are being parochial about the northern ring road, Tommy," but the northern ring road is key for the city, because if there is a crash in the tunnel or on the south ring road, there is chaos in Cork. It is vital infrastructure. How do I find out where that vital infrastructure is? How do I get answers? How do we debate it? Who picks the projects? Are they picked on merit or are they picked because of who is in power or who the Minister or Taoiseach is? These are vital questions. That is why if we come in here and we have a debate, people can get answers and we can go back to our constituencies.”
“I support the amendment. It is a commonsense amendment that requires transparency, openness and discussion. There is really important work to be done regarding infrastructure. We really need to get it right now. The Government is bringing forward a plan, which we support, but it is not going far enough. I will give a couple of examples. The point was made by a number of speakers about transparency and what projects go ahead in what areas. I represent Cork North-Central. For over 25 years, there has been talk about a northern ring road. The southside of the city has a massive ring road, all the way from Ballincollig, into the tunnel, and out to Dunkettle. We have nothing on the northside. The question that people ask me about transparency and honesty is who made the decision to pull the northern ring road. Why was it made?”
“This Government is not showing compassion for anyone, however. Those workers deserve fair play and fair pay and conditions. I express my solidarity with them. I hope this Government will now step up and sort this out before there are any more strikes next week. From the bottom of my heart and on behalf of all of the people who are affected, I thank all of those people in the emergency services who go out to these accidents. They do unbelievable work. The Government needs to do more.”
“They want action. This so-called strategy is 34 pages long and sets out five options. This could have been written at a rate of a page a week over the last two years. That is how long it took to put together and publish this strategy and to come up with five options and no clear actions. While this report was being worked on, 336 people died on our roads. It is heartbreaking. There is another point I want to make. The first people on the scene of these tragedies are our front-line paramedics and ambulance drivers. They are the same people I was proud to stand with on the picket lines yesterday. They are not being valued by this Government. They are going to the scenes of these accidents and seeing the darkest days of people's lives. They are trying everything they can to save people or to show compassion.”
“I wish I was here to welcome this with a sense of hope but this is not a strategy. It is a shortlist of options. People are dying on our roads. We are one of the only states in Europe that is going backwards in relation to road safety. In 2025, 21 people tragically died on the roads of Cork. In 2024, 18 died and seven died in 2021. These are horrific figures. Each of these people left behind a distraught family heartbroken with grief. Some families never come back from the heartache of a death like this. At the same time, the Minister of State has come in here today to provide five options. That is not a strategy. It is nothing short of an insult to those families and those who have died. We want to see real action and so do they. They want to see a real strategy that goes further and will help to prevent deaths. They do not want options.”
“It all costs money. It is all energy. With the summer coming, parents are asking whether they can afford summer camps, give their children a holiday or pay for childcare. That is how desperate people are. It is the Government's job to stop us having the highest energy prices in Europe, and it is not doing it.”
“They looked after the big energy companies and data centres but what about the ordinary working man and woman? What about pensioners? What about people with disabilities? Who looks after them? The Government is supposed to be looking after them. Why is it not looking after them? People were shocked when people took to the streets a few weeks ago with their anger. That is why they are angry. They are angry because the Government privatised energy companies, so they could make millions of euro while ordinary people struggle. Where is the justice in that? People tell me that they cannot afford it. Then, the Minister and Government backbenchers are saying the summer is coming. I do not know whether the Minister is living in Jamaica or wherever but it is still cold in Ireland. People still need to wash clothes, cook and clean.”
“I want to start by congratulating Councillor Ted Tynan of the Worker's Party who retired from politics in Cork City Council last night. The reason this is relevant is that Ted fought for the working classes and communities on the north side of Cork city for years. However, the one thing he always fought against was the privatisation agenda of Fiann Fáil and Fine Gael. We had many marches and protested together many times against that. The Minister might ask why that is relevant. I will tell him why. We have the highest energy costs in Europe and the Government has done nothing about it. This Government and previous Governments of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have done nothing. What they have done, however, is look after big business.”