I welcome the support of the House in progressing this Bill towards becoming law. As I have said, Private Members' Bills can be killed off quietly as they proceed. I hope that in not opposing this Bill, the Government will see that it is substantially accepted because there is a major problem with transparency over public capital investment - not fixing a known and urgent problem. With projected capital spending of €165 billion, it would be a disgrace if this Bill were not to pass. I thank all of those in the Chamb…

On behalf of my Regional Group colleagues, I send our best wishes to the children involved in that horrific stabbing incident, their carer and their family members. We remind parents, teachers and guardians that every Deputy is outraged at what occurred at Gaelscoil Choláiste Mhuire. I recognise the tremendous bravery of those who tackled and restrained the alleged perpetrator of this heinous act. There is no doubt that the rise of the far right has been a topic of discussion in Europe for a number of years and in …

I supported the three most recent Finance Bills believing the Taoiseach's and the Government's commitment that Waterford would not be forgotten. However, Waterford has been forgotten. The Tánaiste's promise to deliver 24-7 to the region is in tatters. The Government gave not a penny of €650 million in the July hospitals spend to University Hospital Waterford, UHW. The promises made by the Taoiseach and the Minister, Deputy Harris, on transformational university change have consigned the south-east region to a secon…

I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to require each Minister of the Government, with responsibility for a Department of State, to periodically prepare a capital supply service and purpose report to provide certain information on the assets that were allocated money from the vote for such Department in a relevant financial year and to provide for related matters. The Bill provides that each Government Minister shall report annually on large capital expenditure in his or her Department f…

I move: "That the Bill be taken in Private Members' time."

I have sympathy to a point for the position Government finds itself in with runaway budgets and the difficulties of trying to rein in spending, but a recruitment freeze is a very blunt instrument to use. It cuts across all systems, including community, acute and primary care. It does not offer any help with trying to figure out who is actually doing a good job and who is not, or even more importantly, what areas are most in deficit with respect to staff, as opposed to those that are not. We have that imbalance thro…

I welcome the Bill, which has been a long time in preparation. As somebody from Waterford who has witnessed the effect of the liquidations of TalkTalk, Debenhams and, most recently, Iceland, I can honestly say the loss of employment is a significant hurt. The denial of agreed redundancy payments becomes a toxic burden for workers to handle because, in my opinion, it shows their employers see little of future value or commercial value in them. It is this sense of injustice that forced workers in all of these compani…

Our banking sector is failing those in gambling addiction recovery. I am referencing the failure of the Irish banks, aside from Revolut, to offer gambling blocks to payment cards. This provides people with the option of preventing any and all gambling activity for 24 to 48 hours while they consider and fully contemplate the decision. The protocols are widespread and available in the UK banking sector and the evidence shows that they have a major part to play in helping people in recovering from addiction. In 2019, …

In the couple of minutes I have, I will point out a couple of areas where the law of unintended consequences has come to bear and maybe the Government can have a look at it. The first is in the area of housing bodies. They have become too top heavy, too administratively onerous. It is causing increased costs and it means that the small and medium-sized builders are avoiding dealing with the housing agencies and the housing bodies. That is leaving the Government paying through the nose for houses. Second, we have sc…

There is much to admire in the shared island initiative as it gingerly tries to figure out how we can all live on this island together. Given the demographic destiny that is beating like a Lambeg drum now, it might prove to have been a little too slow and too careful in getting the well-meaning enhanced co-operation, connection and mutual understanding in place before events take over. Citing personal experience of the undisciplined carnage of the UK's Brexit process, the Minister of State at the Northern Ireland O…

It may be somewhat harsh but possibly fair to say the Government is not particularly loved or cherished by the people. Most, I suppose, are not. I recently went back to review the relevant Fine Gael manifesto, remembering the deep sense of political change I hoped for when there was a change of Government in 2011. It is the document of a party that spent a long time wondering what it would do when in power. It is loaded with brave, fresh ideas to remake the country. It has to be said it has an awful bang of Jeremy …

-----particularly Enda Kenny’s opening comments that the pre-existing political culture had abandoned the principles underpinning the Republic that Fine Gael founded in 1949, had distorted the power and resources of the State for the benefit of the few, not the many, and had allowed the interests of citizens to be pushed behind those of powerful elites. Those are strong words which speak to ethics, ambition and hope. Was this just the stuff politicians say to win elections? It certainly worked in the south east, wi…

The Taoiseach may recall that when Deputy Micheál Martin was first nominated for Taoiseach, I said I would not support the nomination as a protest against the lack of 24-7 cardiac care. I did say I looked forward to engaging with the Government in a programme that showed equity and transparency at its core. The south east has 11% of this nation’s population. I challenge the Taoiseach to show me any year from 2011 to today when 11% of State capital funding has come into the region. I would even challenge him to show…

I have written to the Secretary General of the Department of Health three times this year requesting a meeting to discuss the issues affecting University Hospital Waterford, UHW. The Secretary General has proved himself good value for his €292,000 annual salary. He declined to meet me, but responded by saying that he was aware of the issues I wanted to raise. In such circumstances, I assume the Government is also aware of them. I do not wish to discuss the exclusion of UHW from €650 million of capital funding, nor …

The bust following the Celtic tiger era should have taught many of us the importance of budgeting and living within our means. This applies also to the management of our national finances. I said on budget day that I felt I needed to stand up and question the wisdom of breaking the fiscal rules in developing budget 2024, not least when the level of pre-windfall corporation tax means that in real terms we are operating a deficit. We adopted the fiscal rules precisely to try to avoid the mistakes of the past and to a…

I thank Sinn Féin for the opportunity to debate further the issues in our health service, which at this stage are legion. The planned HSE funding freeze is worrying. I am inclined to agree with my esteemed colleague, Deputy Canney, that the rationale is that Government is trying to put some manners on runaway HSE budgets. Anybody who has spent any time working in or around the healthcare industry knows we have a lot of inefficiencies. It leads to a lot of needless waste. That is yet to be tackled and is something w…

I convey my support to the people of east Cork and west Waterford who have been impacted by flooding. I thank the rescue services and council workers, particularly in Tallow, Lismore, Dungarvan and Clashmore. The Blackwater Valley will probably flood over the next couple of days. I ask that the Government give a clear signal to the local authorities that necessary funding will be provided. I supported the motion yesterday on Palestine, which described the awful vista that is being visited upon the people there at t…

I do not want to come into this Chamber and suggest that our health service provision is a mess, but clearly some things are not working and need to be changed. I acknowledge the many people in the service who are doing extraordinary work. I also commend the ongoing development of our community and primary health sectors. These are fundamental to relieving pressure on our acute hospital systems. On community sector developments, I congratulate all those in my local area, CHO 5, on the work they do. I acknowledge th…

Strategically, the land of Palestine has had a tumultuous history. It is the recognised birthplace for both Judaism and Christianity but in the past 1,000 years it has been home to Christians, Jews, Romans and a multitude of warring tribes. It was ruled by the Ottomans for 402 years until 1918 and in 1948 the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution recommending the partition of Palestine into an independent Arab state, alongside a Jewish state. That brings us up to the present day. The right of Israel to exist has…

On Sunday, 8 October, two days before the budget, an HSE tender issued to build a new €18 million medical clinical school on the grounds of Cork University Hospital, CUH. The tender close-out date is just four weeks. I can find no reference to this development in the records of the House.