Will he answer the question? Did the Cabinet make the decision or was the decision made by a lesser official, which is in conflict with both-----

-----the Constitution and the statutory responsibility of this Cabinet? I am asking for the simple truth.

I have explained section 1 of the 1956 Act three times now.

A deeply disturbing case emerged before the courts of a vulnerable woman with an intellectual disability who was sexually assaulted in a swimming pool steam room. The man responsible has been convicted and yet the sentence imposed was reduced after the court considered difficulties for a foreign national serving a sentence in this jurisdiction. Let us be clear what this means; a woman who lives with the consequences of oral rape-----

It is finished. It has gone through the courts. Let us be clear what this means; a woman who lives with consequences of rape for the rest of her life saw the punishment of her attacker reduced because he is not from this country. Justice must be blind to nationality. The only people who deserve special consideration are the victims of these attacks. Does the Government believe it is acceptable that the nationality of an offender is taken into account and should result in a reduced sentence considering that particul…

I did not know you were made Tánaiste.

Is the lady speaking for the Tánaiste?

You are making a point on somebody else’s time. That is what you are doing.

Would the Tánaiste like to reply?

It is about the policy.

I am only asking for justice for a victim. It is very disappointing.

We all have stories about post offices and memories of post offices. My one is waiting in my mother's car while my grandmother collected her pension. It used to take her about two and a half hours to collect the pension because she got every bit of gossip and it kept her going for the week. She got everyone's information, news and excitement. That is what a post office was about. It was about people meeting, congregating and chatting. It was the heart and soul of the community. While we have 950 post offices, 14 ha…

Many thousands of housing estates in this country are unfinished. They have not been handed over to local authorities. Many local authorities state they cannot take them in charge because they do not have moneys available to them. I stood yesterday with Councillor Ger Curley in housing estates in Cobh. The infrastructure needs to be fixed. Lighting needs to be put in place. We are waiting for engineers' reports. That is the case for thousands of housing estates. They are not just from the Celtic tiger days when bui…

That would be your office

On 12 April 2025, serious concerns were raised by people in Grenagh, County Cork regarding the demolition work on the former piggery site where asbestos was present and became airborne. I can confirm that no planning permission was granted by Cork County Council for the demolition works, no planning was granted in respect of the asbestos materials and no disposal plan was in place for these asbestos materials. Both the HSE and HSA have engaged. Remediation works stopped in September last, which is six months ago. N…

I think we all have to admit that we stumble from disaster to disaster in this House. We had the SNA disaster last night. We have the disaster of housing with 17,000 people who are homeless in this country. Now we are talking about the disaster of GP care. There are seven GPs per 10,000 people in this country. There is a falling rate of GPs, with GPs retiring. A total of 70% of GPs cannot take on additional clients. Our population is out of control because we are ten years ahead of where we thought we would be. We …

I want to address Mary Donovan, Mary Dunlevy Greene, Miriam Moriarty Owens and Maurice Patton O'Connell who, over 51 days, became more than just acquaintances. We almost became friends as I passed by every day on my way to my office in Agriculture House and stopped for a cup of coffee. Many times I witnessed ambulances pulling up outside to take one of them away. For 51 days, people who are 70-plus years of age on average had to go out on the street to fight for what was theirs. That these people are survivors. The…

I welcome that the Minister went into reverse gear at the last minute last night in the wake of threats of large protests. Members of this House and councillors, certainly Independent Ireland councillors, have received emails on this issue from various parents all over the country, including those in my own constituency, from Ballincollig to Whitechurch and from north Cork to east Cork to west Cork. People from Kerry have contacted me. A total of 200 schools are affected. One thinks of the number of parents, princi…

To follow on from the remarks of my colleague, the Taoiseach has publicly stated further consultation should have taken place on the active travel plan for Knockfree and Knockpogue avenues in Farranree, Cork city. Elderly residents, families, community groups, local businesses and sports clubs have raised serious concerns about the removal of parking and the impact on access to five schools, the parochial hall, Sam Allen Sports Complex and the local church. The main corridor is seriously affected, with 23 mature tr…

I thank the Member for bringing the Bill forward. I am conflicted about it. There is great sentiment to it and the heart is certainly in the right place. The Bill proposes amending the Act of 2023 to strengthen employee entitlements, limit refusal and objection grounds and delete section 20(2). I note, however, and these are just observations I have on the Bill, that it encourages and formalises a dispute culture in the workplace. I have concerns about that. I am concerned there would be a likelihood of an increase…