I am not convinced by the Government's response. The fact of the matter is that we are in the middle of a crisis and farmers have no increase this year. It is still €40 per acre. In her response, the Minister of State mentioned the drinks industry. We have such opportunities but it is incredible to believe that our famous Irish whiskey does not have a requirement to have Irish grain in it. This is absolutely incredible. It is one small thing. There would be incredible opportunities if we were to make additional cha…

Those on board the humanitarian aid flotilla are under clear and present danger as it approaches the coast of Gaza today. Our own Senator Chris Andrews and Barry Heneghan, TD, are on board. We know that Israel has no bottom line - anything goes, basically - and that, previously, it killed nine people on board a humanitarian aid flotilla, so we must act immediately. Over 20 years ago, I experienced the hospitality of the people of Gaza and the West Bank. It is hard to imagine what may have become of those who warmly…

The insurance rip-off, which is what it is, affects every single household, every motorist, every business, every community and every group across this land. We are all getting fleeced by a cartel of insurance companies that are making two to three times more profit here in Ireland than they are in other countries. It is a gangster's paradise basically. That is not speculation; it is fact. It hiked up motor insurance by a massive 11.5% last year, four times the rate of inflation. Many young people in my area of rur…

I will also highlight the growing concern about vaping and nicotine use among young people. While vapes are often marketed as safer alternatives to smoking, the reality is far more troubling. Vapes and similar products, such as nicotine pouches, pose a very serious health risk, particularly for young people whose brains are still developing. This scourge of modern society, as we could call it, is nearly everywhere. They are sold in every local shop, as previous contributors mentioned. In my constituency, there are …

In my 34 years as a primary school teacher, and having been on three secondary school boards, this is probably the worst year I can recall in terms of school transport chaos. My office is inundated with messages and calls, mostly in relation to transport for children with special needs. I could give numerous examples such as the 15 children who are today without a school bus place for Castletown National School near the Wicklow-Wexford border. Most of the children had a bus seat for years but now have none. This ma…

Cuirim fáilte roimh mhná na hÉireann atá thuas san Áiléar Poiblí anocht. Tá céad míle fáilte rompu. Like most men, I knew very little about the silent problem of endometriosis until we held a meeting in Arklow recently for the Wicklow-Wexford constituency. It certainly was an eye-opener for me. I am sure it would be for most men, and for many women as well. We heard so many heartbreaking stories one after the other of women not only having to battle with chronic excruciating pain, but also having to endure the trau…

The Government plan to hike fees by 50% or €1,000 in the middle of a cost-of-living crisis represents a betrayal of the students up in the Gallery, whom I welcome, and their parents. I am sure they will not forget this. Tá géarchéim costais mhaireachtála uafásach againn in Éirinn faoi láthair. Tá daoine ag fulaingt agus faoi bhrú mór. The cost-of-living crisis is raging and, instead of helping the students and their parents, the Government is adding fuel to the fire. The hike proposed nine days ago sent real fear t…

The Arklow to Shillelagh greenway project, which is of great importance for tourism on the east coast and in south Wicklow and north Wexford, is still stuck at phase 2. There has been no update since 2023 so two years have passed without visible progress. It will be an absolutely tremendous asset for the area, providing scenic walking and cycling routes through the beautiful valleys of south Wicklow. It will extend benefits into north Wexford and across the east coast. It will connect the villages and towns of Shil…

Even next week would be grand.

Sinn Féin has been clear that where a person is not entitled to be in Ireland, he or she should be returned safely to his or her country of origin and that deportation orders should be both enforced and tracked. We need to have powers to immediately return those who are found not to be entitled to be here. I am looking up behind the Minister at a statue of Cathal Brugha, Pádraig Pearse over here and James Connolly behind me. I firmly believe that an Irish Government is best placed to make decisions in the best inte…

We must do far better for the people of Wicklow and Wexford. For years, I have raised the issue of the inadequate rail network in these counties, including most recently last week at a meeting in Buswells Hotel with representatives of Iarnród Éireann. My hopes were briefly lifted with the all-Ireland strategic rail review when the Wicklow and Wexford rail line was mentioned. However, unfortunately, this optimism was very short lived. The report suggests that solutions for this vital region on the east coast and in …

As we know, Mary McAleese was the first President of Ireland born in the Six Counties and she proved to be a very effective President. However, incredibly, when she ran for election in 1997, she was not allowed to vote for herself. Our Presidents Mary Robinson, Mary McAleese and Michael D. Higgins could have presented the Sam Maguire or Liam MacCarthy cups to players like Joe Brolly, Peter Canavan or Oisín McConville in Croke Park on all-Ireland final day but those same Irishmen were not allowed to vote for these s…

We have a bit of contradiction in that there are so many people without homes, yet there are so many homes without people. The vast majority of these are in private hands. However, there are more than 2,500 vacant council houses throughout the State. Of these, 834 have been vacant for more than a year. Each of these homes should have a local family living in it. Almost all councils have unacceptably long waiting times for reletting, caused in part by underfunding on the part of central government, lack of council s…

Some years ago, I was fortunate enough to stay with the lovely people of Gaza. It is a tiny place just one third the size of County Dublin or one quarter the size of my constituency of Wicklow–Wexford. It now has 2.2 million people, mostly children, who are corralled into what is, in effect, a concentration camp. We see emaciated, corpse-like children deliberately being starved and sometimes incinerated. Irish people, of course, naturally despair and feel helpless and powerless in the face of a Cromwellian-style sc…

As someone who was in their 35th year of primary teaching when I finished up in December, having taught in the area of special education for most of the past decade, this is an area that I am quite familiar with. A shockingly high figure is that of 2,314 children still waiting for an assessment of need in the Wicklow-Kildare HSE area, which is the highest number outside of Dublin. A smaller but significant number are languishing on waiting lists in County Wexford, awaiting an assessment. Like other Deputies, I coul…

Childcare costs are completely out of control, with many people now paying the equivalent of a second mortgage. A local man who came in to do a job in my office this week stated that most of his wages went towards the €1,400 per month charge for childcare, while his wife's income went towards the €1,600 per month mortgage. In view of the high cost of living, how are families supposed to cope? How are they supposed to survive? Childcare costs in County Wicklow average €11,000 per year per child, while across the bor…

With regard to children's healthcare in Ireland and our Bill to address the scandals of misdiagnosis, I would like to briefly mention my personal experience. From two months old until two years, my son was prescribed antibiotics for throat infections. When he turned two years old, he was misdiagnosed with asthma. He was supposed to begin a lifetime of medication, steroids and inhalers. It was a worrying time for us all. Thankfully, we sought a second opinion from my wife's home country, which some might class as a …

This June, a school in my parish, Ballyfad National School, will sadly be closing its doors, as the current sixth class student will move on to second level and the remaining student has secured a place in another school for sixth class next September. The Diocese of Ferns notified the Department of Education about the impending closure of Ballyfad school in recent weeks. It is a school in a beautiful setting overlooking Ballyfad Wood, a natural woodland, and the north Wexford and south Wicklow coastline. It has a …

I thank the Minister of State. I welcome his acknowledgment of common sense in repurposing existing buildings. From an economic and environmental point of view, it makes sense. I also welcome his comments in relation to Gorey Hill School and the establishment of special classes in Wexford and Wicklow. As he pointed out in his remarks, five more schools will be built in other counties. Will the Department look at the Ballyfad National School building? There are early intervention units in a number of local areas. Th…

The economic model and approach of successive governments, whereby they put all our eggs in one basket, has today left us exposed and vulnerable. In Wicklow and Wexford, we certainly are as we have no fewer than nine pharmaceutical companies and our local struggling agricultural sector cannot afford any more cost increases. Recent governments in this State failed to properly invest in infrastructure or, crucially, build up indigenous industries. Instead, we rushed headlong into becoming the 51st state of the Union.…