The scourge of dereliction in the time of a housing crisis is, as was said, antisocial at best and a scandal. Many of the problems we face today predate the Minister's tenure as Minister for housing. I have served with the Minister on Wexford County Council. In my experience councils are afraid of their lives to go anywhere near derelict sites. Every time we bring proposals for remediating a particular property or doing something with a derelict site there always seems to be a problem. There always seems to be a di…

Uisce Éireann is out of control and appears to be answerable to nobody. If the public was made fully aware of the loss of water through leaks across the country, it would be astonished. As a councillor in the past and as a TD since I was elected to this august House, I have had to deal with Irish Water on a number of issues. One leak that comes to mind was where a pipe in Wexford town was losing 10,000 litres of water per hour. After years of contact with Uisce Éireann, it was resolved - but only after years. I dea…

On 9 January, the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, declared that Ireland could not support a deal where imported beef came from production systems that were not as carbon efficient and did not have the same stringent standards as Irish agriculture. He declared this as if this news had fallen from the sky. It was known for years, yet the Government failed miserably to garner support to ensure that sufficient numbers were available to defeat this proposal in the EU. As part of the programme for Government, the coalition com…

What factors have been identified by the Department as driving the year-on-year decline of €1 billion in tourism revenue, as recently calculated? What immediate actions does the Minister intend to take to stabilise the sector and prevent further losses?

I thank the Minister for his response. Someone’s figures are not adding up. There has been a clash – I think the CSO was saying one figure and the industry was saying another. The indications are that foreign spending slumped by almost €1 billion and total international visitors are down year on year by some 13%. As one can imagine in an industry worth €8.9 billion to the economy with, I think, around 200,000 people employed directly and indirectly, that is a shocking statistic. I appreciate what the Minister said …

I welcome some of the initiatives the Minister has announced. There are markets we can work on. I gave the example of Savannah in Georgia before. A number of Ministers have visited Savannah as part of the St. Patrick’s Day connections. Savannah has huge Irish connections. The city has a population of 170,000. Last year, it had 17 million visitors. If one considers that Australia had about 10 million in total, this is a vast market we should tap into. There is no direct flight to Savannah. I flew there a number of t…

Today, around 270 workers at Caredoc, the GP out-of-hours service in Wexford - I think it covers part of the Tánaiste's own constituency or-----

-----county - have gone on strike. The INMO and SIPTU have said they are seeking implementation of a 2023 Workplace Relations Commission pay agreement that was agreed for section 39 organisations. They are specifically seeking the 8% increase that is due to their members working in Caredoc. This is the first of a number of planned strikes that will have a significant impact on GP's out-of-hours services. Last week, 14 ambulances were stacked up at Wexford hospital. It was chaotic and this will only add to that. Can…

Again last night there was traffic chaos across Dublin after the M50 was closed due to a fire near the bridge. This rippled across the city and the counties surrounding Dublin. For those relying on public transport, there is more and more evidence of a system falling apart or not functioning: ghost buses, cancelled trains, and a Luas that shuts down due to a storm. Commuters are tearing their hair out and the roll-back of remote working arrangements is putting more workers on the road from places like my constituen…

I am glad to hear the Taoiseach's commitment to public transport. However, in the strategic rail review, the Rosslare to Waterford rail line has been abandoned yet again. There is no investment in the Rosslare Europort to Dublin line, despite the massive investment that is going to happen in Rosslare Europort. Despite the talk, there are known road safety blackspots in every constituency. In my constituency, the absolutely dreadful conditions of rural roads in particular are appalling. It is mainly due to the massi…

Having listened to the stories of Deputies Gould, Donnelly and Ward and their dogs I am reminded of the phrase, if you want a friend in politics, get a dog. Ireland is in the midst of a dog welfare crisis. That is not a phrase that I use lightly. Today, more than 3,000 dogs are in pounds and rescue centres across the country. Every week we hear of rescue centres overwhelmed, a foster network stretched to its limit, and of families heartbroken after discovering the hidden cruelty behind their family puppy due to an …

Not agreed.

We need an urgent debate on the crisis in emergency departments across the country. Last week 14 ambulances were stacked up outside Wexford General Hospital, with no access to the emergency department because it was already packed. Some 14 ambulances taken out of service, some for up to seven hours. We are facing an urgent crisis in the emergency department. Wexford needs a demountable unit to avoid this crisis happening again.

The issue we come to the Chamber to speak about today cuts to the very heart of dignity, equality and compassion. For too long, trans people in this county have been denied timely, respectful and affirming care. The word "respectful" has been used in this Chamber. When a Member of this House comments in this Chamber in an odious way against another Member, it is something we must call out and not sit idly by and listen to. While progress has been made across Europe, Ireland continues to lag behind. It consistently …

I want to raise the issue of pension abatement. Quite a number of retired public servants who were encouraged back into the service following their retirement are now in receipt of rather large pension abatement bills, so to speak. Retired public servants who had already earned their pensions were basically told that if they worked a certain number of hours, cumulative over the full year, they would not be penalised in any way. However, one man showed me a bill for €18,000 and said that a colleague of his had a bil…

I thank Deputy Nash. I spoke very briefly to the Tánaiste during the week on this. We had a good meeting with the Minister, Peter Burke, on the whole area of employee ownership trusts. My next step was to meet the Minister’s predecessor, but unfortunately he has gone to pastures new.

Yes, Paschal's new pastures. Certainly, this is a win-win scenario. Looking at the statistics, every working day this year, an Irish company has been sold into foreign ownership. If you contrast that with the UK’s situation, ten companies per week transfer to employee ownership trusts. The very simple reason they do that is because the taxation situation is much more favourable in that regard. There is only one company in Ireland that has decided to dodge the tax pitfalls – not the tax, but the tax pitfalls – and w…

I welcome all the people in the Public Gallery and thank them for all they have done in campaigning for victims of sexual violence and change. I am pleased to speak in strong support of this Bill and thank Sinn Féin for bringing it forward to the floor of the House. My colleagues in the Labour Party will also be supporting it. This legislation is not just a legal reform; it is a lifeline for survivors. It is about ensuring justice does not end at conviction but continues to protect those who have endured unimaginab…

This is a moral test for us. In many respects, it echoes our own history. The occupied territories Bill has sat idle for about eight years now and in that time the situation in Palestine has spiralled into catastrophe. Over 67,000 lives have been lost in Gaza in recent years, with hundreds of thousands of illegal settlers entrenched in the West Bank. It is not a distant tragedy or anything like it. It is genocide unfolding before our eyes on a day-to-day basis. We know all about the fight against colonialism, yet a…

The EU-Mercosur trade agreement is not just another obscure policy; it is a crossroads. On the one hand, there is an opportunity for some sectors. On the other hand, there is the potential for real and lasting harm to the communities that have sustained this country for generations. We simply must tread carefully because the stakes could not be higher for counties such as my own, Wexford. This agreement would open the door to 99,000 tonnes of South American beef and 180,000 tonnes of poultry entering the EU at redu…