An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business
Seanad Éireann — 2025-12-16
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Fiona O'Loughlin (FF), Administrative Panel

As we call out the horrific actions in Gaza and the West Bank in this House, so must we call out the appalling actions on Bondi Beach over the weekend, where 15 people were callously murdered on the first day of Hanukkah as they gathered to celebrate their faith. Our very deepest sympathies must go to the families and community of all of those impacted. Our thoughts and prayers go to all the members of the agencies who came to try to help and support those injured and the families of those who died. Many of us have memories of being on Bondi Beach and of spending time there. It is a place where a lot of Irish people go. This time, many years ago, I was on Bondi Beach myself. Now, we are hearing of the futility of this. When we think about it, we all share the same planet and all our blood bleeds the same. We all share the same hopes, aspirations and dreams. We again see this awful war just spilling out and impacting so many people. We just have to pause to think, reflect and hope that someday this awful war will be over.
This morning, I went, as I do every year, to Paul O'Connor, who has a herbal shop in Newbridge, to get an immune tonic. I highly recommend this immune tonic. It has got me through many winters. In the course of the conversation, he told me had to put his prices up by 33%. The price of a bottle has gone from €35 to €42. Why is this the case? It is because he was contacted, as indeed were others in the same business, a number of months ago to be told their products are now being treated as luxury goods. This means the VAT has gone up to 23%.
Now, holistic treatments are important and it does not mean people are rejecting modern medicine. The herb is very tightly regulated in Ireland, and rightly so. Anybody who is an herbalist has to have licensing according to 2007 legislation. It is absolutely wrong, though, that people would be penalised. I am talking about the people who would actually go to receive and buy these products, which absolutely help to support their immune systems. I would, therefore, like to see a debate on this issue.

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Record URI: https://data.oireachtas.ie/akn/ie/debateRecord/seanad/2025-12-16/debate/main
Retrieved: 2026-08-14T04:54:28+00:00
Sitting date: 2025-12-16