I move: That leave be granted to introduce a Bill entitled an Act to prohibit sulky-racing where no lawful permission has been granted. I am pleased to bring this legislation before the House once again. Its purpose is straightforward and urgently needed. The Bill prohibits sulky racing on public roads unless explicit permission has been granted and lawful permission has been there for that. As outlined in the briefing notes, sulky racing is an extremely dangerous activity. The practice places the public, young pas…

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

I am not sure who is coming from my group. I will take as much time as I can. I thank the Minister, Deputy Burke, for coming to Clonmel some time ago and visiting what is known as the old Bulmer's site right in the centre of the town. It is a project that needs to be developed with something along the lines of the Guinness Storehouse, or something of the same nature. The Minister saw the vats, the history and the feeling of the work that went on there, the craftsmanship with the old barrels and the many hundreds of…

I am delighted to speak on this Bill. It is a good and timely debate that is badly needed in our country. We think back to the pioneering days of Seán Lemass and T. K. Whitaker, what they could do and what they did, and the vision, passion and integrity they had. To some extent, we have evolved from that. Of course, we joined the EU and we had loads of money, but we crashed the economy, not once, but twice, and we had the International Monetary Fund, IMF, here. There are soundings again this week that are terrifyin…

Clare still has the hurling, at least.

I too thank Deputy Stanley for bringing forward this motion this morning. My position is clear: the triple lock is sacrosanct. Ireland's policy on neutrality is equally sacrosanct and remains a vital cornerstone of our approach to defence and international engagement. I too compliment our peacekeepers who have worked all over the world in very dangerous situations over the decades. Following the initial rejection of the Nice treaty, the Government gave explicit assurances to the Irish people ahead of the second ref…

My colleague Deputy Toole cannot make it to the Chamber as she is stuck in traffic. She asked me to convey her hope that some of the extra funds that become available as a result of the wind-down of NAMA will be ring-fenced for projects in her constituency. She hopes the Navan rail project, for which a preferred route was announced today, is one of the projects for which the funding now arising out of this sorry saga is ring-fenced. I am glad to have an opportunity to speak on this Bill, which brings about the fina…

The Government has lost focus completely and it is allowing itself to be led by the nose by the NGOs and whoever else makes up these nice policies. We all advised the Government not to bring in the recent legislation on private landlords, as if landlords were a dangerous club. There are some horrible landlords and I have no time for the bigger ones especially. The policy in this area is very strange too. I know of cases with regard to Waterford County Council and An Coimisiún Pleanála. In large groups of housing es…

Ar an gcéad dul síos, gabhaim buíochas leis an Cheann Comhairle as cabhrú leis an Topical seo. I also thank the people who travelled here last week and who have been fighting this campaign in the interest of the community and common sense for more than a decade now. I thank Councillors Seamus Morris and Phyll Bugler, Emma Kennedy who has done massive work on this, anglers and others who came here last week, and the community activists and ordinary concerned citizens who are exposing the madness of this project. The…

The same thing is happening. I think it was Albert Einstein who said that doing same thing over and over again and expecting a different result was a form of insanity. Uisce Éireann is obviously out of control. We all know that from dealing with it on a regular basis. The Minister of State believes this. Its arrogance is typified by the statement that 81% of farmers have signed up to a project that does not have planning permission or an abstraction licence. Imagine that. Hundreds of millions of euro paid out, alon…

I, too, am opposing this Bill. I recently listened to the leader of the Social Democrats speaking on RTÉ radio about the importance of listening to women's abortion experiences. I want to ask Deputy Cairns this question directly today. Before bringing forward this Bill to abolish the three-day wait and widen the grounds for late-term abortions, did she accept or ignore the request to meet women who deeply regretted their abortions? Did she take the time to speak to women who benefited from the three-day reflection …

Ar an gcéad dul síos, I welcome the students and teachers from Coláiste Dún Iascaigh in Cahir, including Ms McGrath and Ms Hickey, to the Public Gallery. In 2021, I asked the Taoiseach a question here about a new business charge that had been put in called the integrated single electricity market, I-SEM. He told me that he did not know what it was. At that time, I saw a bill from an excellent businessman, whom I have spoken to again today. There was a huge increase in his bill. Has the Taoiseach found out what this…

Three wars.

Freagair an cheist. Who are I-SEM?

I have it here. I-SEM.

The Taoiseach told me that a few years ago.

I am delighted to speak on this Bill. It is timely, and I support it. The Electricity Regulation (Amendment) Bill 2026 cannot be viewed in isolation. If we are serious about reducing electricity costs, we must address the core structural issues that continue to drive prices upwards. Only by tackling these areas together can we deliver lasting reductions in electricity costs for households and businesses across the country and reduce Ireland's dependency on imported energy. Almost 50% of the average electricity bill…

With the permission of the Ceann Comhairle, I welcome the members of Rotary Club of Clonmel to the Gallery, along with Councillor Richie Molloy. Yesterday, along with Councillor Niall Dennehy and Councillor Máirín McGrath, I met the new superintendent in Clonmel, James Hallahan. There is a deep sense of frustration at the ongoing neglect of County Tipperary regarding Garda numbers and Garda presence. We discussed all of the concerns, and he was forthright and we spoke the truth. The numbers are scary. It is not pos…

When will the Government have a measurable number of gardaí to put into rural towns and counties - I am talking about Tipperary here - and will he commit today to a specific plan to restore Garda numbers to Tipperary? I am not sure about this calling 999. Every person now is being told, and I heard this in my meeting yesterday, to ring 999. There is no replacement for connectivity with the local Garda, the garda on the beat and community gardaí. I salute Garda Fiona Gleeson in Clonmel and her other three colleagues…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. I thank the Ceann Comhairle for selecting this Topical Issue on a very important matter. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State, Deputy Feighan, but I am very disappointed there is no Minister or Minister of State from the Department of housing present. There is a housing crisis and we have a proposal to knock 52 almost-complete houses in Cashel, County Tipperary. Tipperary County Council plans to demolish 52 partially-completed houses under Part 8 development. The …