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?”
The complete record
Every one of 713 lines we hold for Thomas Gould, in date order, each linked to its source. Free to read, in full, without an account. Page 5 of 15.
“I support this amendment. I had a gentleman come to me a few weeks ago. He is a paramedic working in the ambulance service and he was homeless. He went through a relationship break-up. He could find nowhere to rent. He has a good job and is working. The only service he could be offered in Cork was Simon Community Night Light. You go in at 11 o'clock at night and leave at 8 o'clock in the morning. He was going to work at 4 o'clock. He was in the ambulance service. He was not sure what time he would be home at. He could not go to work for a few days because the only place he could lie down was in the Night Light. How is it possible? I had another guy in a similar situation. Where he was renting, the landlord, a small landlord, was selling the property. He was a security worker.”
“The Government is following the lobbyists and it is time to step back. We will work with the Government. I will leave the Minister and Minister of State with this. We will work with the Government to bring forward a Bill that will deliver housing and rents that are affordable and that will make a change for people. We can all commit to that but not to this Bill.”
“People watching this debate realise what will happen as a consequence of this Bill finally being passed. The worry I have is the people out there tonight who do not know what the Government is doing and who will only realise the consequences of this legislation in the weeks, months or years to come. People will be left terrified and without hope. The Government cannot sort out all the problems but what the Minister and Minister of State can do is give people hope. This Bill will not give people hope. It will give profits to the rich and super-rich and will drive ordinary working people into the hands of moneylenders. What happens when people go to moneylenders and they cannot pay the money back? Where do they go? What happens when they borrow from family and friends and that money runs out? Where do they go? The Bill is a mistake.”
“I know another family in the same position. I was talking to a man who explained to me that his brothers are helping him out with the rent. He had lost his home because the property where he was living was being sold. The family had no choice but to take whatever accommodation there was. The cost of that accommodation is so high that they cannot afford it and he is being supported by his family. What will happen when, as a consequence of this Bill, rents are driven higher? There is so much more I could say but my colleagues have touched on a lot of it. We all make mistakes in life. There but for the grace of God go all of us. The Government has made a mistake. Security of tenure for six years would be a positive step if it did not allow market rents to drive so many people out.”
“They look at Ireland and see a place where they can make a profit. It goes back to "greed is good". The Government's job is to protect people and ensure they have a safe place to live and raise their families. The amendments call for a review and a report. The one thing I have learned since I came up here is to follow the science and the data. Figures do not lie, and what the figures have said here is that this Bill will have a catastrophic effect on rents and drive them through the roof. They are already too high. I spoke with a lady who is on a disability payment and receiving the housing assistance payment, HAP. The only way she can keep the roof over her head is that every month, her retired father gives her money. Her rent is so high that HAP is not enough. She is on a disability payment and only for her dad, she would be homeless.”
“I have been contacted by women who are in abusive relationships, either physical or mental. Where do they go with their kids? I have helped families in Cork to access emergency accommodation and then, within a couple of weeks, they are asked to leave because there is no capacity for them. There are consequences. When I became a TD I was told, "Thomas, you must always be aware of the unintended consequences". There are so many negative consequences to this legislation that the Minister is either not considering or he does not get. It is not only me who is saying this. We were all in at the housing committee, including the Minister and Minister of State, and all the experts told us that rents, evictions and homelessness will increase. What will also increase is profit for the big investment funds, vulture funds and speculators.”
“The price of housing is so high because the Government did not build houses for years. It left it to the market. The Government has a fascination with the idea that the market will solve the problem. Fine Gael came up with this solution after the financial crash. Fianna Fáil should have learned from the financial crash that the one thing we cannot rely on to sort out problems in housing and health is the market. The major problems must be sorted out by government. Rents are not just unaffordable. They are crippling families. Some people will not be able to move for six years as a consequence of this legislation because, if they move, they know they will pay the new market rent wherever they go. I talked to people who live together even though their relationships have broken up because they have nowhere to go.”
“They said to me that this is so cruel. They might not feel the consequences on 1 March, but they will in the future. They are terrified because their rents are too high already. Their rents are through the roof. They are struggling to hang on. I talked to a girl who is college educated. She has a child. She can just about afford the rent. What happens when she cannot afford it? Will the Minister answer that question? What happens when her rent resets to the market value and she cannot afford it? This is a person with a good job and a good education who does everything right. What happens to her? Where is the support? This lady will not qualify for HAP or RAS. Do you know what she told me? She said that nearly all her friends are in the same position. They are renting. They cannot get mortgages because the price of housing is so high.”
“I do not believe they could, if they are the intelligent men I believe them to be. The Minister and Minister of State inherited an unbelievable housing emergency and are they are desperate to find solutions. The big investment companies, the big speculators and the vulture funds came in and produced a document for the Government that they claimed would deliver housing. It will not. The only way to solve the crisis is through supply. It is by building social and affordable housing. Think of all the people who are living in HAP and RAS properties in the private rental market. If the Government delivers social and affordable housing and takes those people out of the private market, that frees up all the rental accommodation then for the renters who badly need it. I talked to a couple of people over the weekend.”
“As I listened to some of the other speakers, I thought about some of the comments the Minister made at the housing committee and in this Chamber. I just do not get it. The Minister and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, are intelligent people. We have seen the housing crisis go from a crisis to an emergency. We know that homelessness is off the charts and homelessness is only recorded as people living in emergency accommodation. It does not include the people who are living with three or four generations in the same home. It does not include the hidden homeless, the true figure that is there. When the Minister and Minister of State look at the homelessness figures and the housing crisis and see house prices, rents and evictions going up, do they really, in their heart of hearts, believe that this Bill is going to solve that?”
“We are sick and tired of being treated like second-class citizens. We do not want a second prison. Build it somewhere else. We have one prison in The Glen. How can the Government justify building a second prison in the middle of a residential area? It is wrong and a betrayal of the people of The Glen and the promises that were made.”
“The Taoiseach is a Cork man like myself. He knows The Glen area well. He should remember that back in 2013 the people of The Glen objected and were against the building of a new prison in The Glen. They were given commitments at that time that the old prison would not be used as another prison and that it would be used for education, the community and historical purposes because Thomas Kent was executed there and buried there for years. The Government now plans to knock the old prison, reneging on promises that were given to the people of The Glen and surrounding areas of St. Luke's, Dillon's Cross and the Old Youghal Road. The Government will not give the northside a hospital, a ring road, an accident and emergency department for children, clean water or a regional park, but it will give the northside a second prison.”
“They feel forgotten about. Will the Minister give a commitment to both Fairfield and St. Joseph's that the funding will be available when they are ready?”
“The Minister is expecting volunteers who work with kids in the community to be planners, engineers, administrators or negotiators. If they are trying to get a project over the line, it all falls on the volunteers. We have another situation in St. Joseph's Community Centre in Mayfield. That has now passed planning so this will bring a state-of-the-art library and community centre to Mayfield but there is no funding there for it. It lost out on the library capital programme, so there is no funding and now the shovel-ready projects scheme is closed. Where does St. Joseph's Community Centre in Mayfield and its library go? It is at risk of its planning running out before the money becomes available. I am not trying to be political here but the facts are that places like Fairfield and Mayfield have been underinvested in.”
“Should we have supports to help communities because these are volunteers putting these plans together? I refer to, maybe, a one-stop shop where communities can come together when planning for their centres, whether it is meeting new specifications or delivering new centres. Communities need support.”
“I welcome the investment in existing community centres in order to refurbish them. A lot of them are just old and need investment. I support that but I am very disappointed by the Minister's lack of commitment to reopening the shovel-ready projects scheme that was there. I have a few examples. The Fairfield community association is operating out of a house it owns in Fairfield. It deals with hundreds of children and different groups. It is an area that has been promised a community centre for 30 years. The volunteers are doing Trojan work. They have done a site survey and put plans together but their real fear, and my fear, is that when they are ready to go, the funding will not be available for this project. These are volunteers. Where is the support? There is one other thing I will ask the Minister to really take on board.”
“Why is Limerick getting €500 million, Ballymun getting €1 billion, and Knocknaheeny getting less than €100 million? Is that fair? We need this to work. We need places like Mayfield and Blackpool to be supported also.”
“The Minister of State mentioned 2011 when the original plan was changed. That was 15 years ago. Why has it taken 15 years to build 620 houses? That is what they are talking about in the plan - 620 houses. The Minister of State gave a date for it being completed - and I stand to be corrected - of 2028. That Knocknaheeny regeneration will not be complete for at least eight more years. They have not got to the Kilmore Road Lower houses. They have not got to the Dunmore Gardens site or Killala Gardens. This goes back to Hollyhill, Ardcullen, Ardmore Avenue and Courtown Drive, which were the initial part of the regeneration but where the works were substandard. I am from Knocknaheeny. My dad lives there. My mother-in-law lives there. I am proud. It is a brilliant community.”
“The Minister of State mentioned the seed funding. The seed funding was actually a very good idea, although I will come in here and criticise, argue and disagree with the Government. However, there was a decision to cut it back last year. While €1 million was needed for community projects, only €450,000 was allocated, which was less than half. I think it was actually €1.2 million that was needed but let us just call it €1 million. This was an initiative that was good, with money that was to be spent on social initiatives in the community, and that could have made a difference. To me, this seed funding should have been expanded to other areas because it helped put money for sporting organisations and community organisations where it needed to be spent in the areas that required regeneration.”
“It is one of the most disadvantaged areas in the State. There is a brilliant community there that is doing unbelievable, Trojan work. However, who came in and bought up loads of it? Vulture funds came in and bought it up. They closed down doctors’ surgeries, gyms and hairdressers because they only want to make money.”
“Their entire childhood was spent waiting for regeneration. That is still not a quarter way towards where it needs to be. There are other areas like Mayfield. The delay in the north-west is having a negative effect on areas like Mayfield and Blackpool. Mayfield is crying out for regeneration. In February 2023, the Tarry Path regeneration was supposedly at the preliminary stages. Where is it? Where is the regeneration for Mayfield? There are empty homes in every terrace. It is unbelievable that homes are lying rotting. There are cold houses with mould, damp and leaks, with guttering falling down and windows that need replacing. Why have Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael given up on working-class areas? There is an area in Blackpool, the most historic area of Cork city, that is crying out for regeneration.”
“The people who do invest in their homes are spending what little savings they have to try to make the best of the situation. It is not good enough. We want a timeline for when the north-west regeneration will be delivered and completed. I will give an example of how slow things are. There are 24 houses on Kilmore Road, Knocknaheeny. They have been under construction for six years. They built the Elysian Tower in Cork in two and a half years, but they cannot build 24 houses in six years. It is a scandal. Twelve years ago, the international sensations from Knocknaheeny, Kabin Crew, brought out a song called “Knocka Regeneration - Deal With It.” They said they wanted to be heard. They wanted to be known as the children who made a difference to our home. These children are now in their 20s.”
“There are people living in Killala Gardens and different parts of Knocknaheeny and the north west who live in homes that are cold, damp and mouldy and, because they are part of the regeneration, they are left like that for years. The council does not want to spend money on them because they know the house is going to be knocked. Should people be left to live in the damp and cold for 26 years? How many more years must they be left in these conditions? They have been waiting a generation for regeneration. Many people cannot put money into their homes. Why would you put in a new kitchen or a new floor or paint the house? People still do it, but why would you invest in a home when you know it is going to be knocked down?”
“Regeneration is not just a word. It is a lifeline for communities that have been neglected for years. In Cork, we have the north-west quarter regeneration. I attended the first meeting in September 2000, 26 years ago. Twenty-six years later, only 99 homes have been built and delivered. Less than €100 million has been spent, which is less than €4 million a year. At the same time, regeneration in Limerick got €513 million, and regeneration in Ballymun got almost €1 billion. This shows the neglect that the regeneration of Knocknaheeny and the north-west has experienced. Why is the regeneration of Cork so far behind the other projects?”
“The Government Members have come in here tonight to attack Sinn Féin. It is always about attacking Sinn Féin. They are attacking those in the Gallery, the IFA and the farming community, people who have given their lives up. When the Government Members criticise us, they criticise every farmer, every farm family and the rural community, which depends on Irish beef. We have one of the greatest products in the world and the Government wants to dilute it. It wants to let the Brazilians come in here. It wants to let the head of the IFA bring it in.”
“He is a man who says he has stood up for farmers all of his life. He is now standing here to defend a man who is bringing in Brazilian beef. Is your junior Ministry so important that you would deny the people who voted for you? Is this what we get from the Lowry and Healy-Rae Independents? Do they sell their vote to the highest bidder? I worked in a dairy years ago when I was a young fella. I am from Knocknaheeny in the heart of the city but I worked in Ballinahina dairies with Michael Buckley. I saw farmers coming in to do the night shift before going out to milk the cattle and run the farm. They were working 14 and 16 hours a day. I have seen them. I worked there for years. As a fella from the city, I understood how hard farmers worked. Until you work with people in the farming community, you do not get it.”
“Bord Bia's mission statement states "We champion responsible food production" and that it promises to show Irish food in a way that is "inspirational, empowering, and exciting." Those are beautiful words. At the same time, the man at the top is bringing beef in from Brazil and the Government thinks that is all right. The Government tried to sell Irish farmers down the river with the Mercosur deal. Two Sinn Féin MEPs in Europe put a stop to it. At the last minute, the Government came out to say it would vote against it. For years, it did nothing to protect the farmers. At the same time, while it is making promises to the IFA and the farming community, it is supporting the head of the IFA bringing in Brazilian beef. It is an absolute disgrace. I am shocked at Deputy Michael Healy-Rae.”
“There is a famous line from the movie, "Wall Street": "Greed is good." Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael, the Healy-Rae and the Lowry Independents stand for that. Greed is good for the speculators, the investors and the vulture funds, and we 100% oppose that.”
“That is 10% of the rented accommodation in Cork. These people, if the Government would build social housing, could move into it, releasing those 2,200 properties to other people to rent. That would help drive rents but instead, the Government is driving them up. It is about delivering supply. Instead of focusing on tax breaks and increasing rents for speculators, developers, investors and vulture funds, the Government needs to work for ordinary renters. A ban on evictions, a three-year ban on rent increases and increasing the supply of social and affordable housing are solutions that will help renters. They will support families, help workers and help prevent more families and, in particular, children, going into emergency accommodation and becoming homeless.”
“In Cork, renters are facing an increase of €278 per month. In County Cork, it is €308 per month. That is over €3,000 a year. People are hanging on by their fingertips, we are in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis, rents have skyrocketed and the Minister is going to add on €3,000 a year. Who can afford that? We TDs can afford it, but the ordinary man and woman in the street trying to keep a roof over their head cannot. If the Government were serious about tackling the crisis in the rental sector, it would take real action. In Cork city, there are 2,197 people and families getting housing assistance payment, HAP, or rental accommodation scheme, RAS. Those families are entitled to social housing but, because the Government did not build and is not building enough social housing, they are in private rented accommodation.”
“This is another example of legislation being rushed through so the Minister appears to be taking action instead of simply taking action. Just two weeks ago, I sat on the housing committee where we dealt with dozens of typos in the planning Bill. This is legislation that has been enacted but that was also rushed through. We in the Opposition warned about the problems with rushing through legislation with mistakes and the Government still has not learned. This Bill is not about renters. It is actually about the opposite of renters. This Bill should be called the "Investor Speculator Bill", because that is what it really is. It does not set out to protect tenants. The Minister made a point about the security of tenure. That is no good if people cannot afford the rent. I will set out some facts to explain to him what is going on.”
“It knew there was a backlog and it did nothing. It has now come out with this document, which outlines what it is going to do. The Government should do its job and build houses. That is what it needs to do. That is what people want the Government to do. We will work with the Government. I do not believe the Government wants to solve the housing crisis. If it did, it would not be putting forward stuff like this that is nonsensical.”
“One of the actions in the plan for delivering housing - this is going to fix the housing crisis - relates to enhancing Government communication and promoting the importance of infrastructure delivery. Is the Government serious? Can the Minister of State seriously stand over this kind of bull? People are crying out for homes. Nearly 6,000 children are homeless. Three generations of families are living in box bedrooms. There are towns and villages in which houses cannot be built because there is no wastewater infrastructure. The Government talks about better communication. Will it build houses? Will it get Irish Water to deliver water and the infrastructure we need? Do not blame the NTA. Do not blame Uisce Éireann. Do not blame TII and, certainly, do not blame An Coimisiún Pleanála. For years, the Government underfunded the latter.”
“We want to do so because the people we represent have no housing and cannot get hospital appointments. There is a crisis in this country. What has the Government done? It has brought out a new, shiny booklet that looks great. It runs to 140 pages, 110 of which outline the problems and indicate why there is a crisis and an emergency in the area of housing. The document does not say that the Government has been in power for the past 15 years. The Government is blaming everyone else. There are 30 actions in this plan that are listed out across 30 pages. The Government must be trying to destroy the rainforests in the Amazon. It has produced a 140-page document, but for what?”
“The new buzzword of this Government is "infrastructure". It blames local authorities, Uisce Éireann, the NTA and An Coimisiún Pleanála for things. The Government blames everyone. I do not know if the Minister of State gets it. Does he think we are all fools over here? We are not fools; we know what is happening. Those opposite are in government. Fine Gael has been in office 15 years and Fianna Fáil for 11. All of these problems were caused by them; they were not caused by us. Now, the Government has come out with this new infrastructure plan. It is trying to pass the buck. Will someone in this Government ever stand up and take responsibility for their job? Ultimately, the Government is responsible but is not providing solutions. We on the Opposition benches are trying to give it solutions. We want to work with it.”
“Mayo County Council wants to take derelict site land hoarders and speculators to court. Will the Minister give it the funding to do so? Could he give a yes-no answer? Charlie Haughey introduced the derelict sites legislation in 1990, 36 years ago. The situation is worse now than ever. The Government is at fault. Deputy Browne is blaming local authorities. He is the Minister for housing - not me, Deputy Ó Broin or anyone else - so he should not pass the buck. Addressing this is his job.”
“Last night I introduced a Bill to this Chamber that would have made it the responsibility of local authorities to ensure that a report would be compiled and that the Minister would answer it to ensure derelict sites levies would be collected. The Government voted it down. It was a solution, supported by the Opposition, that the Minister blocked, so he should not come in here and blame the local authorities. He is the Minister and he voted down legislation last night. Just to let the Minister know, the Land Development Agency, LDA, is seeking to be exempt from the derelict sites levy. I thank RTÉ for doing work on this. Tens of thousands of euro are owed and those concerned do not want to pay it, while buildings are rotting in Dublin and all over the rest of the State.”
“They do not. I have spoken to them. Their officials were in front of the housing committee even before Deputy Browne was the Minister and told us they do not have the staff or resources. What the Minister is saying here now is different. Some €26 million is owed. The amount went up by €6 million in 2025 and it will go up by at least the same amount again in 2026. That means €32 million regarding houses in addition to all the others that are not on the derelict sites register. The Minister is letting those concerned get away with daylight robbery. He is the Minister for housing. Is he going to give a commitment on the floor of the Dáil today that the €26 million and any other outstanding levies will be collected? Deputy Browne is the boss and the Minister. Will he give the commitment?”
“That is unbelievable because the Minister told me he would not be collecting the derelict sites levy. I have come in here and asked him a straight question on whether he will ensure its collection. We now know local authorities have not been collecting it. Number one, they do not have the staff and resources.”
“Will the Minister provide the House with an update on his plans to collect the outstanding €26 million in derelict site levies before the derelict sites charge comes in? I believe he is providing an amnesty to speculators and land hoarders while buildings are rotting in every town, city and village in the State.”
“There might be a small bit more time because of the absent Members. I will just mention that Gabriel Scally was instrumental in exposing CervicalCheck. They are exposing Irish Water and what it is doing to the people of Cork. These court cases will be coming up in the new year and people will have to answer the question of how this has been allowed to happen.”
“Just to let the Minister know, I want to say a major "thank you" to Fred Logue and the Friends of the Irish Environment and the residents of Mount Farran and The Glen who are taking Irish Water to court. Court cases are ongoing at the moment. I want to send a special "thank you" to Gabriel Scally-----”
“There seems to be an attitude that does not worry about them fellows on the north side of Cork at all. Well, I am worried about them because they elect me to come up here and to stand up for them. The water has been poisoned for three years in Cork and still we do not have an investigation. Where is the EPA? Its job is to protect the people. Where is the HSE? Do you know what it is telling me? It is saying that it is getting its results from Irish Water. We have the results and they show that the water is not drinkable. Sometimes, when you run the tap and the water is brown and dirty, you say, "Well, I will not drink it then". The most dangerous part of the situation here is that even when the water runs clean, it is tested and is not fit for human consumption. We have the reports. We have them.”
“We have all the information that proves water in Cork can be toxic and dangerous to human beings when consumed. How could this be allowed anywhere? I know some people might not have water and some might have bad quality water, but I am talking about water that is poison. This is not according to Thomas Gould or Sinn Féin, but according to the World Health Organization, the European Union, Uisce Éireann, the HSE and the EPA, and no one is doing anything. It is like Pontius Pilate; everyone is washing their hands, and they will not protect the people of Cork North-Central. If this was happening in a leafy suburb where the Minister for Health comes from or where some of the other Ministers, the Tánaiste or the Taoiseach come from, it would not be accepted. This would not be accepted anywhere.”
“Can the Minister imagine if the water he and his family were drinking was poisonous or if the water was poisonous for their families and children and he found out this had been going on for three years? This is the situation on the north side of Cork city. It is actually unbelievable that the manganese levels are so dangerous. This is not me saying this; it is Uisce Éireann-Irish Water itself, based on testing it has done which we have got through freedom of information. This proves the manganese level is not fit for human consumption, but still there have been no "Do Not Consume" notices put out. No warnings have been given to the public. This is a fact. I have raised this issue here with the Minister, in the housing committee and with Irish Water.”
“To finish on this, a freedom of information request I made stated that one in three buses in Cork is late and in some cases one in two buses does not turn up. That is not good enough. It is wrong.”
“The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting it to change. At the moment, we have people driven onto roads that are gridlocked to get to jobs when a lot of them could work from home. A happier worker is a more productive worker and a better employee. It is good for the worker, the family and the employer; it makes sense. Talking about Cork for a minute, we have total gridlock in Cork and the Minister knows this himself, coming from an area that is one of the worst parts of it. Cork is the 38th most congested city in the world, worse than London. How can Cork be more congested than London? However, those are the facts. We then have a huge number of people being forced to drive every day and we have a public transport system that is on its knees and does not work. I will give an example.”
“I thank the Labour Party for bringing forward this motion. A lot of the time, we come in here and talk about issues that might be abstract or wonder if they really make a difference to people's lives. This actually makes a difference to the lives of workers, families, communities and employers. This provides a solution and a pathway to making a real difference. In Cork at the moment - the Minister of State will know as he is a Corkman, like myself - the gridlock is unbelievable. People are forced to travel to work when there should be flexibility. People should be able to work from home. Employers should be able to work with workers to come up with solutions. Since Covid, we have seen the drive to get more and more people back to working nine to five.”
“We can work together then to make this the best legislation possible. This is not about criminalising young people; it is about protecting them.”
“Is this because the areas the Government Deputies represent in the leafy suburbs or whatever might not be affected on the ground, the way working class and some inner city areas are being affected? Maybe then, if it comes to those doors, the private schools and the children of the wealthy, action might be taken. One in five young people attending the HSE adolescent addiction services is now admitting to using it. There is a 175% increase in the last 12 months. How can the Government continue to ignore it? Deputy Ward is working hard. We are trying to make a difference. He has done Trojan work. This should be a no-brainer. This is something we should get together on. We are deeply disappointed by the Minister's amendment to move it out by nine months. I ask him to listen to Deputy Ward and withdraw it.”