Tom Brabazon
Dublin Bay North · Fianna Fáil · Ireland
“I raise the issue of Uisce Éireann and the lack of meaningful engagement it has with the public and public representatives. I have had a number of dealings with it recently, most notably on James Larkin Road where it is doing an important project.”
“I welcome what the Taoiseach said in respect of the Dublin city task force. Us Dubs agree that the city centre certainly requires a lot of TLC. Speaking with many constituents in Dublin Bay North, they have fond memories of travelling into town to go shopping in the Talbot Street area.”
“Howth Yacht Club caters for all types of people. One might think a yacht club is the preserve of the wealthy middle class but the club goes well beyond that and has ambitious plans to become an inclusive club catering for those less able and less fortunate than regular club members.”
“I certainly would not be raising this issue in this public way in the Chamber if the matter were progressing in the manner the Minister of State has described. We have been waiting two years for the resolution of a consolidated lease in circumstances where the club's specialist hired solicitor has, in effect, done the work for the State.”
“The club has five leases from the Department of, Agriculture, Food and the Marine. To tidy up the title, the club hired a specialist solicitor to try to consolidate the leases to simplify the title in order to ease grant applications.”
“I welcome the Minister's response in that regard but the suggestion made is only one of a suite of measures to combat this reckless carry-on. We need more accountability from importers of scramblers, more Garda pursuit training, more intelligence gathering and more community involvement in handing over intelligence to Garda authorities.”
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“I welcome the recent introduction of Grace’s Law, the intention of which is to make scramblers illegal in public places. However, these vehicles are still causing havoc in my community and in communities across the northside of Dublin. I am inundated with correspondence from constituents who are sick to their back teeth of these vehicles speeding up and down roads and footpaths in a reckless and dangerous manner, putting the lives of the riders and other people at risk. To combat this, I am asking that a statutory indemnity be introduced for gardaí pursuing scramblers and acting within reason so they can carry out their duty without fear or favour to ensure our communities can be protected.”
“It is talking about a green landscaped area. To me, that is going to turn out to be like a mugger's alley. I am very fearful for the future of this area if the LDA and the Department of housing do not start sitting up and listening to the genuine concerns of the people of this area.”
“I subsequently engaged with Dublin City Council, which is doing its level best to provide community facilities and which may in fact be given charge of some of the community facilities that are going to be there. However, the Minister of State says there are going to be 2,000 homes there, and it is absolutely crucial we get the community infrastructure correct. One thing I will say for the LDA is it is providing créche facilities. That is absolutely welcome and is necessary, and I will not fault it on that. However, the local scouts group, for example, needs a hall-type of area but the facilities being provided are on the ground floor of the apartment block, so there are pillars in the middle. This renders it unsuitable for the scout group. There has been no flexibility shown by the LDA in respect of that.”
“I thank the Minister of State for the response but it appears the LDA has given him its party piece in respect of this particular development. I know there has been engagement but the engagement has been more or less window dressing. The plan has not changed in any way as a result of the consultation with the local community. I attended a meeting before Easter with some of my Oireachtas colleagues and several councillors from the area, and there was palpable anger among all the public representatives in respect of the lack of flexibility shown by the LDA. It was its way or the highway as far as we were concerned. The LDA refused to listen to the issues and the problems.”
“Policing resources are stretched beyond capacity and none of the design and safety concerns I raised with the LDA in respect of crime prevention has been taken on board. I asked it if it consulted the crime prevention office and I was told it had but I do not see any evidence of that. Any points that have been made to the LDA it robustly bats off and does not acknowledge.”
“I could stand here all day and talk about those needs but in four minutes, I do not have the time. Transport is a major issue. Residents are dealing with problems with transport every day of the week, between traffic congestion and no clear plan for any additional capacity alongside this development for buses and additional DARTs. I know we have the DART+ coastal plan, which was recently passed, but that is probably going to take ten years to start delivering. That means we are just doing a box-ticking exercise. With policing, Coolock Garda station, which is the local station, got three extra gardaí under the latest tranche, despite the fact the population in this area is burgeoning and growing on a daily basis with new residents moving in.”
“I could tell the Minister of State the countless representations I have made in relation to ghostbus services and, while I know it is not his portfolio, it is all highly relevant to the proposed development. This is also the same NTA that cannot build a bus shelter to keep people who want to use public transport on the Hole in The Wall road out of the rain. I passed it this morning and there were about 40 people standing at the bus stop cowering under umbrellas. There is a huge gap in this programme. There have been ongoing discussions between Dublin City Council and the LDA in respect of provision of community facilities. None has been provided to date by DCC or the LDA. We need to plan for successful communities. There is no agreement between DCC and the LDA in respect of those community facilities.”
“One of the big concerns in relation to parking is that the LDA told me that as a result of its consultation with one of the statutory consultees, the National Transport Authority, that the NTA is dictating to the LDA that there would be 0.4 of a car parking space per unit. We have seen this type of policy before, where people are allocated housing on the basis that they do not have a car, but they do have a car and the car parking overspills into neighbouring communities. It pits neighbour against neighbour. It does not bode well for future development or future sustainable community and neighbourly relations. Regarding the NTA, this is the same NTA that is unable to provide a regular 15 bus service to Clongriffin.”
“I wish to raise the Land Development Agency's phase two plans for Clongriffin. A lot of these issues will also affect the neighbouring area of Belmayne. On the phase two plan that the LDA has consulted with locals on, locals are telling me - and I agree with them - that this is not being handled correctly. There is a huge investment in housing in this area. It is unprecedented. We all agree that we need housing. However, at the same time we must put together the surrounding infrastructure in terms of parking, community facilities, transport, health facilities and proper policing facilities. This is not being done.”
“People deserve to feel safe where they work and where they live. Right now, too many people do not feel that. That must change and it is our responsibility to create that change”
“Gardaí cannot be everywhere and they cannot meet the needs of communities without proper staffing and resourcing. I welcome the increase in Garda numbers that was announced recently. We need to keep this up if we are to reach the numbers that are so badly needed. We are on the right trajectory but we cannot sit back. We need to create additional critical momentum in this regard. What people want is quite simple - more gardaí on the beat, on our streets and in our communities. They want the reassurance that when an issue arises, there is a Garda ready to respond. That visible presence is what builds trust and confidence and keeps people safe. I am asking the Government to go further and faster in increasing Garda numbers and to support our communities by ensuring that sufficient numbers are deployed to areas that need them most.”
“I welcome the opportunity to speak on this vital issue. Garda resources are one of the most consistent and pressing concerns raised with me by constituents. Day in, day out I hear from my community that the Garda presence in our communities is simply not strong enough or visible enough. Across my constituency of Dublin Bay North, there are areas crying out for more gardaí. These are areas whose populations are increasing on a daily basis. People are telling me they do not see the same presence on the streets anymore. They are worried and frustrated. They want to feel safe going about their daily lives and right now, too many do not feel safe. Our gardaí do fantastic work, often in very difficult circumstances, but they cannot do the impossible. There are stations in my community that are stretched to their limits.”
“I welcome that the Government has committed over €24 million to the hospital but we need to know timelines for when this work will commence and be finalised.”
“Every day I am contacted by a member of my community who says either they, themselves, or a member of their family have attended the accident and emergency department in Beaumont Hospital. They invariably describe it as being like a war zone. That department is bursting at the seams with elderly people left on trolleys and on chairs while staff have to try to care for patients in an overcrowded and overrun emergency department. We are a wealthy modern country and there is no excuse for people in their most vulnerable moments to be forced to endure war zone conditions in their local hospital. We urgently need the redevelopment of the emergency department at Beaumont and the construction of a new critical care unit.”
“What steps are being taken to give these families certainty about the long-term care arrangements when they can no longer provide that support themselves?”
“I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. It is very evident that the care that these families provide to their loved ones is unmatched. It is not easy for them but they do it, get on with it and do not complain. They do not have a clear answer about future residential places and supported living options. They do not have clarity. That is what we have to bring to this whole space. The State must step up and give these families the peace of mind that they deserve. We need to ensure there is a clear pathway for the provision of care for those with disabilities and that their families know that they will be cared for when they can no longer do it. We need to give these families confidence and not fear.”
“Yet, despite their commitment, they have no certainty on what will happen to their loved ones, either when they are no longer physically able to look after them or when they have passed away. It is a constantly anxiety and a number of families have been in touch with me on this issue.”
“I raise the provision of care for those with additional needs when their loved ones can no longer provide this care. This is a source of enormous concern for families up and down the country and within my own community. Families have a deep and persistent worry about what will happen to their family member or members when they are no longer able to provide them with the care that they need. These are families who have devoted their lives to providing care at significant cost to themselves, personally, financially and emotionally. It is often elderly people who are providing this care, with over 2,000 people over the age of 70 caring for their loved ones, 500 of whom are over the age of 80.”
“Unfortunately, I do not think the reply will give much solace to the workers who will stand outside in the cold in the morning. The reality is that because of the way the cards have fallen and the agreement before the WRC, through sleight of hand we now have a State-sponsored discrimination between one set of workers who do exactly the same work as another. Even though they are employed by somebody else or are employed in a different way, both are funded by the taxpayer. That is the bottom line. Northside Home Care Services is a charitable organisation that gets all of its funding from the State. There is no reason on this earth why one healthcare worker helping the elderly in Dublin 5 should be paid or treated differently to another.”
“However, the Northside Home Care Services workers did not get a pay rise as a result of a difference that I will explain. The difference is that because their employer is a private company and had to tender for the work as opposed to another company getting a grant, they are treated differently in employment law. We have always had a principle of equal pay for equal work. The healthcare workers who work for the HSE do exactly the same work as those who work for Northside Home Care Services. What has happened to these workers is completely unjust. They have been left out on a limb and forced to leave the vulnerable people they look after in order to take industrial action. It is really unfortunate. I ask the Minister of State to intervene and possibly meet the workers tomorrow morning when they are outside the gates of the House.”
“I completely agree with Deputy Ward as regards his frustration. The last time I raised this issue, a different Minister was present. However, I believe the Minister of State has responsibility it, which is a happy coincidence. The issue in question is section 39 workers. About 50 Northside Home Care Services workers engaged in industrial action during January. They are going to be outside Leinster House at 10 a.m. tomorrow. They have been involved in industrial action because they were reclassified as section 39 workers as a result of a WRC agreement between ICTU, employers and the relevant Departments. This agreement gave other section 39 workers who are healthcare workers and who do the same work as the Northside Home Care Services employees a pay rise.”
“I thank the Minister for her reply. She will be aware that Defence Forces members frequently work irregular and extended hours. Compensation arrangements for overtime and public holiday duties have been a long-standing concern for members and must be addressed. Fair remuneration for additional hours worked is central to improving morale and retaining skilled personnel. The bottom line is that a lot of work needs to be done to ensure our members have adequate working conditions. Members of the Defence Forces sacrifice so much to serve and protect our country and Irish citizens. Working conditions are essential to recruitment, retention and, without a doubt, the morale of members. The State must meet the standards that members show.”
“As we all know in this House, members of the Irish Defence Forces serve the State at home and overseas in often high-risk and demanding roles. The level of commitment from Defence Forces must be matched by fair and sustainable working conditions. The Minister will be aware Ireland was recently found to be in non-compliance with the European Social Charter as regards the workplace conditions of Irish Defence Forces personnel. Will the Minister please advise the House how the new strategic framework for the transformation of the Defence Forces will improve Defence Forces working conditions?”
“I have been contacted by deeply concerned parents who are waiting for a letter of eligibility from the National Council on Special Education post the 1 October parent notify deadline. As a result, these children are without access to a special class. Families are living in limbo. The stress and anxiety this is causing them are immense. These children need stability and access to education in an environment that meets their needs and their parents urgently need clarity and reassurance. I understand NCSE staff are awaiting further direction from NCSE senior management. Can the House be updated on when this directive will be issued and parents will be given peace of mind and certainty?”
“We have to empower our gardaí to ensure they can pursue those using scramblers in public areas. To do this, we must consider a statutory indemnity for members of An Garda Síochána who act reasonably and within strict protocols, like that of the London Metropolitan Police, to ensure they are not unfairly penalised for doing their jobs. We need a system of electronic tagging for e-scooters, e-bikes and scramblers so they can be traced from retailers to consumers. Ultimately, there must be a fear of consequences. The law must be applied with full rigour to ensure recklessness, thuggery and criminality are met with appropriate punishment. We cannot compromise on this. We owe it to the Lynch family and every family in Ireland to ensure our public spaces are no longer playgrounds for criminals or those with scramblers.”
“We see youths with no helmets who are ballied up speeding up and down roads and footpaths, doing wheelies against the flow of traffic, beckoning and jeering at gardaí and having no regard for their safety or that of others. This is sheer thuggery and part of a systematic wider criminality where vehicles are used to intimidate and terrorise local communities and as mules for the transport and dealing of illegal drugs at ease. There is now a section of society that has become untouchable because it is not being pursued and facing the full rigours of the law. Middle management in An Garda Síochána is hesitant to order chases of suspects because it cannot afford to have personnel tied up or suspended because of a Fiosrú investigation. However, as a country we cannot surrender to lawlessness.”
“I will use my time to discuss the scourge of scramblers on our streets and in our communities. I offer my deepest and most sincere condolences to the family of Grace Lynch in Finglas. Her death has devastated a family, shaken a community and forced a national reckoning with the criminally dangerous use of scramblers and other vehicles. Grace had her whole life ahead of her and there are no words that can lessen the pain her loved ones and the wider community are suffering. I welcome the legislation that is being brought forward to ban these vehicles from our streets but we have to be honest and admit this could have been done a long time ago. It should not have taken the death of young Grace to spur action. In my community, we are all too familiar with the reckless use of scramblers.”
“I wish to raise the issue of the Aer Lingus, Dublin Airport Authority and Shannon Airport Authority pensioners who retired before 2014. They report an erosion of between 55% and 60% in the value of their pensions since 2007 due to cost-of living freezes, the pension levy and retroactive pension cuts introduced in 2015. They were defined benefit pensions built up over as much as 45 years yet the rules were changed after a time without compensation or mitigation. Pensioners had no representation in these decisions. They have no income protection or security in retirement. Will the Minister review the cumulative impacts and engage directly with the affected pensioners?”
“My question is probably wider than just the issue of nitrous oxide. It also concerns readily available inhalants like aerosols that we would all use, including deodorants. Last week at the Oireachtas Committee on Drugs Use, we heard from a broken-hearted mother and father who had lost their teenage son as a result of him having inhaled an aerosol. It is every parent's worst nightmare to lose their child. We have to look at all of these inhalants in the round. We cannot afford to sit around. We have to look at regulating this whole area.”
“Does the Minister have any plans to introduce legislation to regulate nitrous oxide and other inhalants? As we know, those who use nitrous oxide and other inhalants as a drug are putting themselves at serious risk. Last week, Private Members' time was used to discuss nitrous oxide in particular, and the Department indicated it required time to assess the issues. It is important, however, that greater action is taken to regulate the sale of nitrous oxide and other readily available inhalants. The sale of nitrous oxide for human consumption is a criminal offence but people are still getting their hands on it.”
“It is not just affecting the workers; it is also affecting the clients of Northside Home Care Services, who are elderly and vulnerable, as the Minister of State, Deputy Butler, is well aware. The workers will be outside Leinster House at 10 a.m. this morning. There is an opportunity for the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, to go outside and meet them and discuss their grievances.”
“I thank the Minister of State. A response to a parliamentary question in 2024 stated that Northside Home Care Services was categorised as a section 39 organisation. The HSE has communicated to these particular workers' representative body that the issue is due to their employer tendering rather than receiving a grant. We have always had a principle in labour law in this country that there be equal pay for equal work. This group of people are being discriminated against by virtue of how their employer is being paid. It is completely unjust, unfair and inequitable. Will the Minister of State or her colleague, the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, who has specific responsibility for this issue, meet with these people and intervene in this dispute?”
“However, while 40,000 other workers in section 39 agencies will see their pay rise, the healthcare assistants at Northside Home Care Services will not see a rise. It is not just the staff who are affected but also those who use the service, and are now without access to it due to the strike action, and their families, who must make alternative arrangements to ensure their loved ones receive the care they require. This means they have to take time off work and cancel appointments in order to attend to their family members and those close to them. Can any intervention be made in respect of this situation?”
“I raise the issue of arrangements by section 39 organisations for healthcare assistants in respect of the pay increase agreed last year. I refer specifically to the healthcare assistants at Northside Home Care Services who, apparently, were somehow left out of this pay agreement and are now on strike. Northside Home Care Services provides a vital service to the most vulnerable members of society in the Dublin 5 and Dublin 17 areas of my constituency of Dublin Bay North. Approximately 50 healthcare assistants are now on strike due to their recategorisation as non-section 39 workers. In replies to parliamentary questions submitted by my immediate predecessor, former Deputy, Seán Haughey, in 2024, and by Deputy Dolan last year, the HSE confirmed that Northside Home Care Services is, in fact, a designated section 39 agency.”
“Will the Taoiseach advise if a similar approach will be taken to the suburbs of north Dublin, which also require renewal and regeneration with an improved policing presence?”
“As the Taoiseach is aware, the task force recommended ten big moves for regeneration, which focused on renewing O'Connell Street and the surrounding areas, dealing with dereliction and increasing security in the city. The increased presence of gardaí in the city is welcome and has improved matters but it has not fully solved them. The issue of dereliction in the city persists. Will the Taoiseach update the House on the actions being taken to address dereliction and vacancy in the city? In my constituency of Dublin Bay North there are similar issues of crime and antisocial behaviour to those we see in the city. Ironically, the additional Garda presence in the city centre has displaced some of that antisocial behaviour towards the northside. The programme for Government commits to using the task force model in other parts of the country.”
“I join previous speakers in thanking everybody associated with the House for their hard and diligent work throughout 2025 and I wish everyone a happy Christmas and a prosperous new year. The issue I want to raise relates to An Post. Management and the trustees of the An Post pension scheme have agreed an increase for An Post pensioners and those pensioners are very anxious that the Minister and the Department would sign off on this increase. They are waiting for him do so. An Post pensioners in my own constituency of Dublin Bay North have been in touch with me to ask that this agreement be approved as soon as possible. Can the House be updated on when this agreement will be approved?”
“This means ensuring our Naval Service has the vessels, technology and personnel required to patrol our waters effectively, enforce quotas and hold those who are breaking the rules to account. If we are serious about the sustainability of the fishing industry, about protecting fish stocks for future generations, and about defending the livelihoods of our coastal communities, then enforcement cannot be an afterthought. We must consider all of our options here and not allow ourselves to be bullied by a minority group who think they can throw their weight around. The industry will be decimated otherwise. Thousands of jobs are at risk here. We owe it to those people to act and to ensure that their livelihoods are protected.”
“That understanding has now been undermined and Ireland should notify the Commission that, as a consequence, the Common Fishery Policy will cease to apply from 1 January 2026, with Irish waters closed to all states other than the UK from that date. Responsibility for the mackerel dispute rests squarely with Norway, the Faroe Islands, Iceland and Russia, all of which have unilaterally set mackerel quotas far in excess of their historical entitlements. The Commission has repeatedly failed to address this situation by not leveraging access to EU markets as an effective means of enforcement. Our permanent representation in Brussels also has to stand up and fight this. We also have to properly equip our Defence Forces so that they have the real, practical capacity to prevent overfishing.”
“We must have a return as a matter of urgency to the Hague preferences and we must stand up to these countries and to Europe. The European Commission has failed to uphold its obligation to deliver an agreed and balanced outcome and has offered no support to a smaller member state such as Ireland that has been effectively overpowered by a dominant blocking minority. I urge the Minister and the Taoiseach to consider formally writing to the Commission or the President of the Council to restate that the Hague preferences form an integral part of the Common Fisheries Policy. The Hague preferences were designed to provide Ireland with safeguards in the event of declining fish stocks in return for permitting other member states to fish within Ireland’s EEZ.”
“The industry will have approximately 57,000 tonnes less to fish next year and is facing a quota reduction to the value of €94 million and a possible loss of €200 million when we consider processing, logistics and export. This is simply devastating. We must be honest here and call out the countries which orchestrated this attack on Ireland. Clearly, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Belgium, Latvia and Denmark have their fingerprints all over this orchestrated attack on the Irish fishing industry. These larger countries are attempting to bully Ireland and we must not let them. Let us not forget that these are the countries that have benefited the most from Ireland paying 40% of the transfers to the UK to retain access to UK waters in the aftermath of Brexit.”
“We can not underestimate the importance of this, given the current geopolitical climate and the weaponisation of food in some corners of the globe. The outcome of the Fisheries Council places all of this at risk. Fishing organisations estimate that the EU fishing quotas could cost up to 2,300 jobs. What are these people to do? The fishing industry is all they know. Are they expected to learn a new trade and no longer follow their family’s tradition? What will this cost the State when these people have no access to income and must seek assistance from the Department of Social Protection? What destruction will this cause to coastal communities right across Ireland?”
“I welcome representatives from the fishing industry who are here in the Gallery today, particularly John Lynch from Howth. The Fisheries Council meeting which took place in Brussels last week can be described as nothing short of a disaster for Ireland’s fishing industry. It is extremely important that we put into perspective how much Irish society relies on the fishing industry. More than 15,000 people are working in the seafood sector, there are 101 seafood processors, and the industry contributes €1.3 billion to our economy annually. Critically, it provides Irish people with food security. Those who work in our seafood sector, be it on the water itself or in the processing sector on land, ensure Irish people have reliable and consistent access to food.”
“Will the Minister advise what stage the procurement process is at, and when will the radar be delivered? Is there a date for that and when it will become operational? Will she also provide any updates on the Garda investigation into the sightings, and advise what threat assessments are carried out and will be carried out during the visits of international dignitaries?”
“Reports of unauthorised drone sightings in north Dublin during the Zelenskyy visit are a matter of deep concern given the obvious security sensitivities involved. Such incidences highlight the real and present risk posed by drones during the high-profile visit. We can expect activity like this to persist when Ireland takes over the EU Presidency next year, as our counterparts in Denmark experienced during their Presidency. I raised this matter with the Taoiseach last week during Taoiseach's questions. In his response he advised that Ireland is developing radar capacity and that we are procuring equipment, that the Garda special detective unit is carrying out an investigation of the circumstances of the incident, and that we have already enhanced our anti-drone capabilities.”
“This is about supporting safe medication use, dignity and independent living for those who need it most, and there is scope for a balanced solution that protects vulnerable patients while remaining consistent with the objectives of the community pharmacy agreement. At the heart of any outcome should be safety, dignity and fairness for vulnerable patients.”
“In fact, it would not take a lot of imagination to envisage somebody ending up in a nursing home, and the State having to fund the nursing home fair deal scheme for that individual, on foot of a mistake that had a catastrophic effect on such a person. I welcome the Minister for Health's decision to pause the charges until quarter 1 of 2026, as the IPU and its members now have time to engage over the next three months. I encourage the Minister, the HSE and the pharmacies to prioritise a targeted patient-centred solution that ensures those with the greatest clinical need continue to receive support, no vulnerable patient is left worse off, and safeguards are in place to ensure appropriate use of such medication.”
“Fáiltím roimh an deis labhartha anseo anocht ar an motion seo. Since this issue arose, I have been contacted by numerous constituents of mine, many of whom are elderly, vulnerable and on limited incomes, who fear there will be a cost of €50. I bow to Deputy Toole's superior knowledge in this particular area. They are worried about the impact such charges will have on their monthly outgoings and their ability to provide for themselves with fixed incomes, such as old-age pensions. Without access to monitored dosage systems or blister packs, there is a real risk of medication errors, missed or excessive doses, loss of independence and avoidable deterioration in health.”
“Can the Taoiseach provide an update to the House on the development of Ireland's national security strategy and an update on the drone sightings during the Zelenskyy visit?”
“As the Taoiseach is aware, drone sightings in Dublin Bay during the recent Zelenskyy visit underline and underscore the scale of our vulnerabilities and the urgency and need for preparing a strategic national security package. There are reports that international anti-drone units were deployed to Dublin during the visit to assist the emergency response unit. While we welcome the assistance of other states, we should not have to rely on others for our own defence. We should be self-reliant in the first instance. It should be expected that such activity will continue when Ireland takes over the EU Presidency next year, and a national security strategy would allow us to assess risks facing the State, including emergency aerial and technological threats, and set clear goals to guide Government and law makers.”