I want to make something abundantly clear and it is very important that I get this point across. Let us take someone in the agri-sector who is contracting day in, day out. If their machine is costing them an extra €200 a day to keep on the road, that amounts to a grand a week, which is over €50,000 a year. No business can survive that. That is why this intervention is absolutely critical. School bus operators are signed into a contract. They need to be supported. We are already having issues getting school bus driv…

I welcome the intervention and the sizeable package that has been put in place, but it is like any scheme or package that was rolled out over the past few years. It is about how quickly a business can get this into its bank account to provide cashflow and liquidity so it can continue in business and get through a difficult and turbulent time. It is critical that the supports that are put in place now are through a streamlined process that is easy to draw down. Where I come from in east Galway, my family runs an acc…

When we talk about these statements post the European Council meeting, it is so important that we have a conversation about the positive role that Europe and being part of Europe can play in all our lives. We are yet to see many of the benefits that were envisaged in a European Union and from a trade perspective. We do not have an opportunity to deal with banks across Europe. We do not have an opportunity to deal with energy companies across Europe. We do not have an opportunity to deal with a whole range of trade …

It is something that I have raised with the Minister. Roisin and Peggy from Down Syndrome Galway had a fantastic meeting with the Minister. I wish to reiterate the issue that exists in that circular regarding the special speech and language disorder classes and having accessibility for everyone to them. I will use my two minutes - not that the Minister is not aware - as a reminder of how important the role of education, and particularly the role that special education, plays. I know the work the Minister and the Mi…

The Taoiseach's reply highlighted a number of priorities. One area of key focus is disability. The Cabinet committee on disability is going to try to push forward with the national rights strategy for disabled people 2025-30. One key area the Government needs to focus on is accessibility in our towns, particularly towns like Athenry, Tuam, Gort and Loughrea. These are towns in Galway East where, in the last year, we have seen progress toward greater accessibility, but we need to see more. What is the Department goi…

Tomorrow we will all collectively celebrate Daffodil Day and we will support the Irish Cancer Society. I see many Members across the House donning the daffodil today. In Galway last year, 1,332 people were diagnosed with cancer and in 2024, sadly, 531 people died at the hands of this disease. One thing we in this House can do is try to alleviate some of the pressures people face when they are battling cancer. I want to ask a very simple question. Has this Government any plans to tackle the financial burdens that ar…

It is great to be able to speak here today on International Women's Day and to discuss so many issues facing women right across this country, particularly in our role as representatives to ensure we represent all voices. I say that as a man standing here speaking while thinking about my mother, my three lovely sisters and all the women I meet every week in my constituency clinics and the issues they bring to me, as their representative, directly. It is important to say that Ireland has come a long way over recent d…

We need to be abundantly clear here. Families across this country are under serious pressure and the fuel costs are a major part of that pressure. In Galway East and across rural Ireland, people do not have a choice. They rely on their cars every day to get to work, bring their children to school and keep their livelihoods going, and right now, they are being squeezed. When people are paying more than €100 to fill a tank of diesel, that it not just a number. It is money being taken from groceries, heating and, ulti…

It is important for me to outline the changing landscape we are seeing for young people on social media and the impact recommender algorithms are having on them. In my generation, when we went into secondary school we still had phones where you could call and text people and that was the extent of it. By the time we were in junior certificate, everyone had a smartphone. Everyone had Instagram and everyone had Snapchat. The entire landscape of being a teenager completely changed at that point. That was a time when i…

In 2022, the Government announced a fantastic scheme to provide sewerage services to unsewered villages. Two of those villages, Craughwell and Clarinbridge, are in County Galway, and a sum of €21.9 million was allocated. Subsequently at the end of last year, the Minister, Deputy Browne, increased that to €29.9 million, which was fantastic and it reduced the matched funding contribution from the council from 15% to 8%, which was very welcome. However, we have a huge problem. The council is saying it still does not h…

It has been three years and nothing has happened.

Is mór an onóir dom seasamh anseo sa Dáil inniu chun labhairt faoi ábhar atá an-ghar do mo chroí agus do chroí an náisiúin, is é sin, ár dteanga náisiúnta, an Ghaeilge. Agus muid i lár Sheachtain na Gaeilge, cuirfidh mé tús le mo chuid cainte trí comhghairdeas a dhéanamh le Conradh na Gaeilge agus le gach duine atá bainteach le heagrú na féile iontaí seo. Bliain i ndiaidh bliana, tugann sí spreagadh ollmhór dúinn ar fad. Ní sraith imeachtaí atá i Seachtain na Gaeilge amháin, áfach; is meabhrúchán í ar cé muid mar p…

When the Minister of State visited Tuam with his officials and held a meeting to give all the clubs in County Galway an understanding of what changes they might be able to anticipate in the upcoming sports capital programme and answer the questions they had, it was very warmly received. That was a really productive exercise. I welcome his statement to the effect that applications will open in May or June. It is very important that the Department continues to learn from previous applications as to what worked, what …

I appreciate everything the Minister of State said. One thing that needs to be made crystal clear to clubs this year is the promotion of female participation. I do not think we give it enough attention. We have to make sure that any club that is offering sport to males and females has to offer equal opportunities, equal access and equal participation. In many different sports clubs right across Galway East, I am seeing how much female participation has grown and how much young women are becoming involved. The compe…

I want to raise the issue of the 425A bus route from Mountbellew to Galway city. Back in January the NTA launched a public consultation on its proposals. I would like an update as to where that public consultation is at. Has it been reviewed and assessed and where is it at? From speaking to representatives of the NTA in the Committee of Public Accounts they seemed to indicate that by the end of quarter 1, they would have an update but I would appreciate an update from the Minister today.

I really appreciate that and the manner in which the Minister has worked with me on this since I became aware of the NTA's proposals. It is important to say that absolutely nobody in my constituency has come to me saying they want to see the 425A rerouted into Athenry. Previously, the 425A was a once daily return service. It is now a four times daily service. It is working fantastically and we do not need to change it. A 416 service from Tuam to Athenry in the form of a Local Link would be fantastic but the reality…

The Minister is right. There has been such a significant investment over the past few years in public transport, active travel and trying to secure the future of our networks. Athenry had a privately-operated bus service. It pulled out essentially because the middle-day services were not feasible. There is a public service obligation, PSO, determination there. It is in place for Athenry and we need to meet it. The bus going from Athenry does not have to go directly on the motorway. It goes in by a place called Derr…

When I speak about special needs assistants today, I want to do so in a fashion that is factual and considered because behind all the headlines and all the political noise over the past week there are real children, real families and real SNAs who show up every single morning to do extraordinary work. Special needs assistants are not an add-on to the education system; they are part of the foundation of inclusive education in Ireland. They support children with additional care needs, assisting with mobility, persona…

Our fishing industry is not just an economic sector, but a backbone of many coastal communities. In 2026, those communities are facing an extraordinary challenge - a 70% reduction in mackerel, a 41% reduction in blue whiting and a 22% reduction in boarfish. These cuts are based on advice from the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea and were formalised at December's Agricultural and Fisheries Council. We have to be clear. The science is not the problem. The science reflects years of overfishing by c…

The deemed disposal tax on unrealised gains for exchange-traded funds, ETFs, is simply madness. We often speak in this House about opportunity, fairness and giving people a real stake in our economy. We need to ask ourselves honestly what kind of Ireland we are shaping through our current tax system. Do we want an Ireland where ordinary workers can build wealth slowly and steadily over time, where someone on an average income with €100 or €200 he or she can put into a savings account a month can participate in the …