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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“It is important that we do not come to the Chamber just pretending that does not matter, because it does. Young people matter and their voices must be heard in this debate. Young people deserve to be respected, to be safe online and to be listened to. The solution is not to take them offline, it is to protect them and force the big tech companies to make sure it is safe online for them. The tech companies have algorithms that push eating disorders, target young men with toxic masculinity, sexualise young children and promote suicidal ideation. Young people need protection. We have to force these big tech companies to make sure young people are protected. The whole area of age verification must come in. The technology exists but the big tech companies will only do it if the Government forces them to.”
“They are some of the biggest companies in the world and less than 1% has been collected. If this Government was really serious and stopped all the waffle, it would force those companies to pay the fines they got. There is no way for an ordinary person to opt out of gambling ads and gambling platforms online. Vulnerable people in recovery are exposed to material they do not want to get. When we discussed gambling regulations in the gambling control Act, we pointed this out at the time. People cannot opt out on their phones. The technology exists - they should be allowed to opt out on their phones. These big companies look at these vulnerable people not as individuals but as pounds, euro and money. For many young people, their phones are a lifeline, an escape and a connection to their friends.”
“Once again, we have Fianna Gael and their pals Fianna Fáil pointing to problems without doing anything to actually resolve them. You would swear this happened yesterday and that it has not been around for years, but it has. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Governments since 2011 and beyond have failed to act. Now, there is talk about doing pilot schemes. The Tánaiste said he is considering a ban on social media for under-16s and the Minister said he is not in favour of a ban. Debating sounds good in the media while big tech companies are getting away with breaking the laws that already exist which are there to protect our children and are not being enforced. Some €3.26 billion in fines has been issued by the Data Protection Commission to these companies in the past five years. Less than 1% has been collected.”
“I live in Gurraunbraher now. I remember when growing up there were dogs everywhere. There would be dogs running loose all the time. People have evolved and there is a lot more respect for dogs among the vast majority of people but there is a small minority and they cannot be let get away with it.”
“Another point I want to make is around the housing crisis and the number of people getting evicted. People ask what that has got to do with dogs and breeding. A lot of people who go into emergency accommodation cannot take their dogs with them, so they either have to give their dogs to a family member or give them away. These are consequences of the housing crisis and homelessness. A lot of landlords now will not take dogs. I am not sure if it can be included in this Bill or in another piece of legislation but I believe people need rights to bring their pets with them, obviously in a controlled way. They should not be barred from renting accommodation because they have a pet or a dog. We want to see these proper regulations. We do not want to see some of the horrendous things that are happening with breeding at the moment.”
“I remember when we got Coco I was running in the by-election. I came home one night after canvassing and she was in the kitchen with my two daughters and my wife. Michelle said to me, "Sure you are out canvassing anyway and the girls will have Coco while you are out", and what could I say. I have had dogs all my life and so has my wife. A dog is like a family member. I know some people might condescendingly ask, "What do you mean by that?" but for anyone who has a dog, there is a special bond when you have a dog in your house. I know sometimes when my daughters are doing exams and when they are down, if the dog is upstairs, she is up in one of the bedrooms. There is a bit of comfort in having that companionship and only a dog can give it sometimes. I welcome this Bill. It is really important.”
“I welcome this Bill being brought forward. It is actually quite common sense. It could have gone further but I respect that the Deputy is trying to make a really big first step, which is important. We are now being recognised as the European capital for breeding dogs and pups. There are a lot of things we want to be top of the list for in Europe but that is certainly not one we want to be seen as, especially when we are a people renowned for our history with dogs. I was listening to other people talk. The joke in our house is that I go home on a Thursday evening and when I go in the door at whatever time it is, 8 o'clock or 9 o'clock, our little dog Coco is waiting at the door for me shaking her tail off. My two daughters are shouting "Hi Dad" down the stairs and my wife Michelle is probably busy doing something. There is a special bond.”
“I suggest that if someone has a derelict site that has been lying idle for years, even if it has a coat of paint, that is not good enough. If a site is not being used for housing, business or the community, it is derelict and the tax must apply.”
“The Tánaiste and the Minister, Deputy Browne, have said that this tax will get more derelict sites turned into housing delivery, which I support. If housing delivery is not happening, the tax must hurt those who are abusing their communities. When I walk around a brilliant European city like Dublin, I look at the dereliction. It is the same in my own city of Cork. It drags the whole city and community down. I want to ask the Tánaiste a couple of things. Will the derelict sites levy that is collected in a local authority area be put back into that area to tackle dereliction locally? There is a job of work to tackle dereliction, to acquire these places through CPO and to take on these land hoarders. At this moment, if someone who has a derelict site paints it and can camouflage it, it is not considered derelict.”
“There is a lot of work to do but there are registers there. Can we start with the people who are, in most cases, the worst offenders?”
“The Revenue Commissioners taking over the collection of the derelict sites levy is one thing we can support. It is something Sinn Féin has been advocating for years. My worry now is this: for how long more will land hoarders and speculators who are sitting on sites be able to get away with it? Cork City Council is one of the best local authorities at implementing the levy but it is still only collecting one third of it. Cork City Council has €5 million outstanding. There are millions of euro outstanding while speculators see the value of their properties go up and destroy communities at the same time. Will the Tánaiste commit that the levy will come into place on 1 January 2027 at the very latest? Local authorities have derelict sites registers at the moment, but they are not complete. I agree with the Tánaiste on that.”
“Will the Tánaiste update the House on whether he has met the Revenue Commissioners to discuss the new derelict sites tax? Will he consider starting the collection of the derelict sites tax on 1 January 2026 or early 2026, and not 2027?”
“Six months is the legal requirement and the statutory obligation. The Government is breaking that because 27 months is the average time. This is a scandal. Enough is enough. These children must be protected and must be looked after.”
“A child is standing up to the Government because the Government will not listen to the Opposition, will not listen to parents and will not listen to children who badly need an assessment of need. It is one single girl, standing outside the door, and we can see the shame that she brings on Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. I am so proud of her. I am so proud of her family. She is taking this on for so many other people. I have been outside that door with parents who are looking for special school places, school transport for their children or special needs assistants for their children in school. Why must everything be a fight? Why can the Government not show respect? In Cork, 8% - less than one in ten - got their assessment within the time. There are now 1,500 children over the limit between Cork and Kerry.”
“Why must families in the State fight for everything? Why can children with additional needs and special needs not get what they need? Why can they not get what they are entitled to? They are children of this State. This is a fundamental human right - a right to education, a right to healthcare, and a right to be treated with respect and dignity. I have been coming in here for the last six years, listening to the Government telling me what it is doing. Why was this plan that it announced today not announced six, nine or 12 months ago? I have listened to plan after plan here. There is a child outside the door, Cara Darmody. That is what she is - a 15-year-old child, shaming this Government into doing something for children with additional needs and special needs.”
“Well, here we are now with the highest homeless figures in the history of the State, the highest number of homeless families and the highest number of homeless children, the highest house prices, the highest rents and the highest number of people on the social housing list. Who is wrong? We told the Government it was wrong and it is still saying it is right. Every figure in the book tells it that it is wrong. What will it take for it to admit it? I am asking the Minister a straight question and I am looking for a straight answer, and that is about the one thing the Minister can do. If the Government does not end long-term homelessness by 2030, will the Minister and this Government resign?”
“There are children going into their third Christmas in emergency accommodation and the Minister has this in his power. The Minister and the Government have said they will look to end long-term homelessness by 2030. Is the Minister willing to give a commitment that if he and the Government do not do this by 2030 that he will step down as Minister? This Government made promise after promise that we knew on this side of the House were wrong and that could not be delivered. We told Darragh O'Brien, Eoghan Murphy and Simon Coveney they were wrong but we were told, no, we were wrong and they were right.”
“It is just not in Carrignavar but right across the State that there are houses that have been built that should be delivered. I raised with the Minister in the housing committee last week the thousands of boarded-up council houses right across the State. I asked him a straight question and, to be fair, he gave me a straight answer. It was the wrong answer but at least he was honest about it. He said he was giving no extra funding for local authorities for the boarded-up voids. He said it was a local authority issue. Last Friday, the homeless figures came out and they were horrendous. We do not have the ability right here and now to solve the homelessness crisis but what the Minister does have the ability to do now is to fix long-term family homelessness, if he was willing to fund local authorities.”
“At last week's housing committee I asked the Minister whether this Bill would lead to more homes being delivered, and he could not give me a straight answer on that or on why he was bringing these regulations forward. Is this more developer-led lobbyist-influenced policy or is it simply that there are problems that should not be there and now the Minister is trying to fix them? To give the Minister a feel of things, there was an article in The Irish Times the other day by Sarah Burns about ten houses in Carrignavar that have been empty for 15 years. I have raised this in the Dáil and at the housing committee. The reason for this is that Irish Water cannot connect them to wastewater facilities. The Minister needs to be doing the things that need to be done and delivering housing, especially houses that are built.”
“We need to start treating trades like they do in Europe, especially in places like Germany where training is on the same level as third level and is respected. I will tell the Minister another thing. I was out canvassing in Kerry Pike at the weekend. I stopped afterwards in the petrol station and I met a fellow buying a house out there in Kerry Pike for €500,000, or the bones of it. He told me he is working every hour God sends and asked me if he was doing the right thing or if he should head off. He has got a partner and they have one child. He wants to live here. They want to stay close to the northside, but then he is looking at the cost. He will be going to work every hour God sends for the next 20 years. We need to look at that.”
“We are doing Monday to Friday now." You cannot get tradespeople. The people there are getting old and they are asking me if the Government understands this. A lot of young people do not feel there is an incentive there to get into the trades. The thing about it is that when they do get into the trades, they really enjoy them because they are very worthwhile. The point is that when we look at the wages of first- and second-year apprentices, they are just too low. I ask the Minister to look at this amendment again. At the end of the day, we want to get more people working and more people in the trades. We need them to build houses. I know it is not all housing, but the bulk of those trades are in housing. This would be a win-win for everyone.”
“There are huge issues there that need to be looked at. We are talking about priorities. First- and second-year apprentices could go work in Supermac's or Abrakebabra because they would get better money. They are getting better money working in shops, fast food outlets, bars or wherever. If this Government is really serious about getting more and more people into apprenticeships, it has to improve the rates for first-, second- and third-year apprentices right across the board. It must also be made easy for employers to be able to hire them. I know lads in the building trade. In the area where I grew up, almost half the fellows I know are in the building trade. Most of them are over 50. They are saying, "Tommy, we are not working seven days a week any more because our families are raised.”
“Will they go back to their mam and dad and stay in the box bedroom at 23, 24 or 25 years of age? That is a huge issue. Until we get a grasp of housing policy, it will feed into the crisis we have with apprenticeships. Another issue, which was touched on by a previous speaker, is that we have people trying to finish off their course being told they have to be up in Dublin for three months, but they cannot get accommodation. It is the same if people have to go to Sligo. We need to provide the training in areas where people are studying. I had a father contact me. His son could not finish his apprenticeship because he could not get somewhere to study. When he did get it, he could not get somewhere to stay. What was he going to do? Was he going to go up and down to Dublin every day from Cork? It cannot be done.”
“It is constructive, would have cross-party support and would certainly go down very well in the communities I represent. I am not sure if the Minister knows this but I know, from talking to people in the trades, that the minute they get their qualification, they are gone. I know of one course in particular where 15 out of 16 plumbers left the country. Someone looking for plumbers might say there will be 16 of them coming out next month, but they will not be coming out next month at all because they are all getting on a plane to Australia. The vast majority are going to Australia, with a few going to Canada and a couple going elsewhere in Europe. The reason, to go back to a debate we had earlier, is housing. What are newly qualified tradespeople going to do?”
“I come from an area where there is a very low level of people going to third level, but there is a much higher take-up by people of apprenticeships. We want more to get more people into apprenticeships and third level. I want people to have the choice. For people on the northside of Cork city, there are no third level institutions. They are all on the southside. I know we are not going to build a new college, but we could build a campus on the northside of Cork city specifically for the trades. Great work is being done by MTU and the education and training board, but they will tell us they do not have the capacity. We have an issue now with lack of capacity and we have areas on the northside of Cork city where we could have a campus specifically for the trades. We could use the National Training Fund for this.”
“People are studying courses now that were just handed down from family members or neighbours and they fall in with someone that way. My dad was a carpenter and my grandfather was a carpenter. I went to the North Mon and did woodwork, and I would say they got the fright of their lives when they saw me with a saw and a hammer. I just did not have a creative bone like carpenters and tradespeople have. I met with University College Cork and Munster Technological University. I want to see a campus for trades on the northside of Cork city. We are trying to get more and more people into apprenticeships. I remember a couple of years ago there was a phrase in camogie, or it could have been in ladies sports in general, that went, "If you cannot see it, you cannot be it".”
“About 15 years ago, when I was a county councillor on Cork County Council, I put forward a similar motion looking for a proportion of all major Government contracts to be given to either local workers or to ensure that apprentices were being hired. At the time, I was told we could not do that because of EU procurement law. I went and researched it, and it turns out that Germany, Italy and other European countries have those quotas in place. This meant Ireland was implementing European law to the absolute maximum, while some other major European countries were abiding by it but not fully and were able to put their own nuance on it. We are all in here trying to work together and come up with solutions. There is a crisis right now in apprenticeship. The Minister pointed out there are 78 different types of apprenticeships, which is great.”
“Christmas is coming. I have families who have been in emergency accommodation for three years. Imagine those poor children. They cannot put up a proper Christmas tree. They are wondering will Santa come. The parents are then distraught because they are looking. They feel like failures but they are not the failures. The Government is the failure. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael are the failure because they put developers and speculators before people. They put money before people. That is what this is doing. It is an absolute disgrace. Where is the hope this Christmas? Who will be lighting a candle for all those homeless people?”
“Does the Government not understand how hard it is for ordinary people and families who are trying to get a home? They cannot find a home to buy; they cannot afford it. They cannot get somewhere to rent; they cannot afford it. They cannot get social housing. I am talking about the pensioners who have notices to quit. Where will they go? These are people who are terrified about where they are going to go in January because we have a tsunami of evictions coming and the Minister seems to have his head in the sand. Does he not know what is happening? Does he not know what people are living through? He is coming in with this plan, Delivering Homes, Building Communities. I would love to tell him what I think of it. I am dealing with people who are sleeping on couches or in box bedrooms, and people who are separated for Christmas.”
“The Minister does not understand the damage that he does and that Governments have done when they announce a new housing plan. It takes a year to deliver but what a Minister does when he announces a new housing plan is create hope. People are so desperate for housing they would do anything. They look at their Government as they wait for its plan. It has caused devastation to ordinary people because this plan is only a rehash of what we have seen before. There is nothing in here that will solve the housing crisis. There is nothing in here that will solve the homelessness crisis. I take no glee in that. I am actually gutted that there is nothing in this plan. In my constituency today, four houses came up in Kerry Pike. Hundreds of calls have come into my office for four houses in Kerry Pike because people are so desperate.”
“If ordinary men and women must pay their fair share, why should the banks not have to do so? We could use that money in so many good ways that would help people. It is about quality of life. The Government's choices are negatively impacting on people's quality of life. I ask the Tánaiste to reconsider.”
“I know volunteers who fix up people's houses because local authorities' staff were slashed during the austerity years and they do not have the funding to put into accommodation. Local authorities get blamed for a lot but this is about choices. The Government chose to give the banks tax breaks. A choice was made not to tax them properly on their profits. That means ordinary men and women, who are struggling with the cost-of-living crisis arising from Government decisions, very like other decisions that were made earlier in regard to developers and banks, have to pay. People ask what is the difference. The difference is we are standing here wanting equality. We want the banks to pay their fair share. Is that too much to ask? Is it too much to ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance that the banks pay their fair share?”
“When people ask what this has to do with anything, it has to do with everything because if the banks paid tax on the profits they are making it would fund energy credits and there would be no need for students to have to pay an extra €500. The Government may have been able to deliver childcare at a cost of €200 per week in the budget, a commitment it gave. By allowing the banks to claim 100% on their losses, we are denying people in this State money which is badly needed. I hold a clinic every Monday. Originally when I started it was 12.50 p.m. and now it is 1.50 p.m. and stretches to 3 p.m. I spend the whole of Monday dealing with people. A major issue outside of housing is housing maintenance. There are people living in substandard accommodation.”
“The Minister will ask what this has to do with anything. I will tell him. People in every local authority area in the State are living in apartments and houses with windows that leak, doors that do not close properly, mould, damp and leaks. People are living in cold houses. Rents in Dublin increased this week. The Minister will ask how this is related. If we collected tax from the banks, we would be able to give local authorities the funding they need so that people would not live in cold and damp houses. We would be able to give people money for energy credits so that they could keep the heating on this winter.”
“I remember the financial crisis and the destruction that came. People lost businesses and homes. Some lost everything. There were marriage breakups. In some tragic cases, people died by suicide as a result of the financial crash. Fast forward to 2025 and the banks are making vast profits. Where is the fairness? Where is the justice? The people at the heart of the financial crash who were bailed out by the State – every man, woman and child bailed out the banks – are allowed to write off 100% of their losses until they run out of losses for which they can claim. Ordinary people could not do that. In 2009, Phil Hogan was the Minister for housing and €1.6 billion was given to local authorities in central Government funding. In this budget, €670 million is being given, almost €1 billion less than in 2008 and 2009.”
“Does the Tánaiste think about whether he told them the Government was going to give developers and speculators vast tax breaks? People trusted the Government and it betrayed the trust of ordinary people. People are suffering now. Every day, those people are heading to Australia, Canada and all over the world because they do not see a future here. It is obvious where the Government's priorities lie, looking after the big developers and not ordinary, hardworking people who are, as a previous Tánaiste said, getting up early in the morning. The other question people ask me is why they are getting up early in morning because they cannot buy houses, cannot look after their families and are crippled by the cost-of-living crisis.”
“They come in here and slag us and say, "Well, ye didn't get elected this time." At least we were open and honest with voters about what we were going to do. People might say they did not agree with it, but at least we put down on paper where we stood. The Government hoodwinked the public. Does the Tánaiste think he can justify that to the ordinary man in the street who cannot buy a house? I know families who have split up because he is going to live with his family, and she is going to live with hers, because they are trying to put a deposit together to buy a house. People are coming to me just when they have their mortgage approval, have saved hard and done everything right, but when they go to buy a house they cannot because house prices are going up faster than they can save.”
“Then, when they come in here, they use the ESRI and the Central Statistics Office when they are trying to justify certain things. Last year, when they were campaigning, which is a year ago now, they said they were going to deliver 40,000 houses, which the dogs in the street knew they were not delivering. Why did they not tell the people well before the election that they were going to give €750 million to developers who are already making vast profits? It was because they would have been run out of the boxes. There is a question here of the Tánaiste's honour. He and members of this Government made comments during the election that were not true, or they withheld information from the public.”
“I am asking him honestly, man to man, if he does accept that, how can he justify giving them hundreds of millions of euro? How can he justify that? As Deputy Doherty said, that commitment was never stated before the election. Can you imagine if that commitment was made four weeks before the election? Members of the Government parties came out and said they were building 40,000 houses, which they knew in their heart and soul was not right. They knew that in their heart and soul when they were doing their press conference. It was not us saying it. The ESRI, the Central Bank and people on the ground were saying it. The Department knew it because it is getting the figures in. The Taoiseach or the Tánaiste talked about Deutsche Bank or somewhere.”
“Who suggested that €750 million? Sometimes, when you talk to ordinary people in the street, they can get their heads around €1 million because they think of the Lotto being €2 million or €5 million this week. It is now €500,000 to buy a house, when you think of it. People can just about visualise what a million or millions are, but when you talk about hundreds of millions and €750 million, that is money people cannot get their heads around. They certainly cannot get their heads around how this Government chose to give those tax breaks on properties that were already profitable. I will ask the Tánaiste one straight question. Does he not accept that the apartments that are under construction and nearly completed were profitable?”
“The two previous speakers have summed up how we are giving massive tax breaks to developers. Hundreds of millions of euro in tax breaks are being given for apartments that are nearly built or are under construction. The Minister is an intelligent man. Why would the Government give someone a tax break when that property is already viable to be sold? Developers and builders do not construct apartments and apartment blocks if they are going to lose money, especially when we know they are making massive profits. The Minister is an intelligent guy and has an intelligent Department around him. I am trying to figure out the logic. The Minister is sitting there and this Government is sitting down and putting this plan together. Who came up with the suggestion, "Let's look after the developers. They're not making enough money"?”
“She is in arrears with her HAP. She pays €130 a week in rent but she has to pay €490 as a HAP tenant. She is in arrears and could be out of her house in a month-----”
“How can the Tánaiste justify doing this at the same time? I know he is new in the job but he has been in politics and this Government for a long time. I am sure there is nothing in this budget that he is not 100% across and that he does not 100% support. I will ask my question again. Ordinary people out there might be watching this. They might not. They might be at home worrying like that lady I spoke to on Monday who is on the verge of panic attacks. Do you know what she said to me? She told me she cannot tell her husband because she does not want to worry him because he is going out to work every day. She is looking after the kids and working part-time. She is now looking at how she could work full-time. Ordinary people cannot keep a roof over their heads if they do not have two jobs. I was talking to a woman on the phone a while ago.”
“I do not think the Tánaiste answered the question. I asked him where was the tax break for ordinary workers in this budget. There was none. There was naught for ordinary workers. How can the Tánaiste then justify giving a tax break to people who have gold-plated pensions anyway? As Deputy Doherty has outlined, this is a tax break of €325,000. I do not know who is watching here tonight but ordinary families are talking about the cost-of-living crisis, filling cars with petrol or diesel, the increase in the cost of home heating oil and not being able to pay for their electricity or struggling to do so. People are counting every cent when they go to the shops. You see them adding everything up on their phones or other devices because they can only buy so much. No breaks were given to those families in this budget.”
“You are going to lose your house or you are going to freeze; it is one or the other. Then at the same time the Tánaiste comes in here to talk about giving the wealthy more money. We all make mistakes in life. We are being genuine here. This is a measure that should not be in this budget. We have seen child poverty double in the last 12 months according to the statistics. At the same time we are saying to the lads and the girls who have loads of money to come on in and we will give them more of it. For the love of God. We try to be constructive. I have been listening to Deputies Doherty and Farrell trying to be constructive all night. We can make this a better budget. Even if we disagree with major parts of it we could still help improve it.”
“This time next year, if God is good, the Tánaiste and I are going to be here and I am going to ask him how much it cost us. If it is more than €10 million then will he say he will get rid of it? There is no justification for giving people who have gold-plated pensions more money. Where is the justification? I have people who worry about how they are going to look after their kids. I was at a housing committee meeting last week where Clúid was before us. We were talking about energy poverty and EnergyCloud. It is a great idea. The witnesses were telling us people were choosing between turning on the heating and paying their rent. That is not me. There were Government TDs and Senators at that meeting where we were told people were making that choice. You have to do both of them. You just have to.”
“The only people who could have looked for this were the rich, the wealthy and those who want to maximise the money they can make and the money they can save. This is when ordinary families are worried about putting on the heating and getting presents for Christmas. They are not worried about gold-plated pensions. Does the Tánaiste know why? It is because they will never have them. The cost-of-living crisis is destroying families and at the same time, the Government thinks to give tax breaks to the wealthy - gold-plated pensions, jobs for the boys, Galway tent, here we go again - while people are talking about how they are going to give their kids a good Christmas. The Government has stated it is €10 million but we know it is going to be an awful lot more than that.”
“I spoke to a woman in my clinic on Monday who told me she is worried and anxious. She said she is nearly getting panic attacks because she does not know how she, her husband and her three kids are going to get through Christmas and what they are going to do in January when Christmas is over. They are doing everything now. She said they are watching the children in case they touch the heaters in the house yet here we have tax breaks for people who do not need them, that is, for people who are on gold-plated pensions and wealthy people. Ordinary hardworking families are getting no break from this Government. This budget has completely left ordinary workers behind. Who wanted this measure put into the budget?”
“The first line of the Minister of State's speech was that this is a matter for the NTA. He said this is not the Minister's job and not the Government's job-----”
“The Government has a responsibility to deliver a public bus service that delivers for the people. The Minister of State outlined there that the timetables were realistic. I met the company two years ago and told them over in Bus Éireann. I met with them. I sat down in the office and said your timetables are not realistic; they do not add up. I also told them buses should not be going from the north side to the south side because they are getting caught in traffic. They should be turned in the city centre and sent back out the way they came. I was told that could not be done either. We are trying the big solutions here. The Minister of State comes in here and tells me about a recruitment problem. There was a recruitment problem three years ago. What did the company do? Who is responsible?”