No increase in pensions has been approved by the CIÉ board since 2008. The whole point I am trying to make is that this could also be brought in under this Bill. These are people who have not had a pension increase. They are in the Ceann Comhairle's constituency and in my constituency. Since 2008, for 16 years, despite repeated requests and representations the majority of CIÉ pensioners who are members of the 1951 scheme have no other income and do not qualify for the State pension because as public servants they p…

I am totally opposed to water charges. I was one of the people who protested very strongly against water charges at the time. The problem we have is that very little is recognised in this House regarding people who do pay for water. In agriculture, the farmers pay for water. I paid for three connections. My son is paying for it now because he is running the farm. It is a huge burden to farmers and they have to show responsibility. If there are leaks, they have to deal with the issue immediately. Where there could b…

Last October, the former Minister for Health, Stephen Donnelly, announced that hormone replacement therapy, HRT, would be made free, which was widely welcomed. However, despite the scheme being scheduled to roll out in January, it has yet to be implemented, leaving women to continue paying for their medication. The Irish Pharmacy Union has highlighted several issues, including insufficient communication from the Department of Health, no IT system for the pharmacists' reimbursement and no fixed date for the scheme's…

I thank the Tánaiste. Last October, the women of this country were promised free HRT, with implementation set for January. We are now into April but nowhere nearer a start date. It is incorrect for the Minister for Health to place the blame on the Irish Pharmacy Union. The delays are on the side of the Department of Health. Many people are contacting pharmacists expecting prescribed medication to be free under the assumption the scheme has already been implemented by the Government. It is unfair to blame the pharma…

The people of Union Hall, Glandore and surrounding areas are rightly frustrated with the progress on promised improvements to their local pier. These promises are going on for years, and in that time, they have had visits from the Taoiseach and the former Minister for agriculture and the marine, looking at what needs to be done and raising the hopes of local fishermen and the tourism sector that funding would be given, but nothing has followed. The local authority has said there are three phases to the works that n…

The foundation of my political career lies in my beginnings within the voluntary community sector. I firmly believe everybody should engage with their communities in some capacity. Recently, I addressed the pressing issue of the lack of gardaí in rural Ireland. We have witnessed the closure of Garda stations without replacements. This has led to a decline in the sense of safety that once prevailed in the past. If people had an issue, they could visit their local Garda station where they would know the gardaí and th…

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I agree with the previous speakers, but there are other issues of serious concern too. Today we need time to debate farmers' payments and the delay in same, up to months for some people. A staggering 9,300 farmers are waiting since early 2024 on delayed agri-climate rural environment scheme, ACRES, payments, 2,300 of whom are waiting for their payments since 2023. There are also farmers in the targeted agricultural modernisation scheme, TAMS, and the suckler carbon efficiency programme,…

This weekend's CSO figures on visitors to this country have cast a serious doubt over our once glorious tourism sector. The figures show a drop of 20% in the number of visitors in January and 30% in February. Visitor spending has dropped 31% in those two months compared to last year and overnight bed bookings are down 33%. This is a concern for cities like Dublin, Galway, Cork, Waterford and others but it is also a disaster for rural communities like west Cork, Kerry, Connemara, other areas and more if this trend c…

We are talking about a vote of confidence in the Ceann Comhairle. While circumstances have led us to this incredible situation, it is unfair that the Ceann Comhairle should share all the blame. I attended every business and Dáil reform meeting of the new Dáil. The antics of some leave a lot to be desired and it leaves a bad taste in this Dáil that will not be forgotten for a long time. The bottom line is that the Taoiseach and the Tánaiste did what I have called a stinking bad deal with Michael Lowry and his team o…

I congratulate the Minister. This is my first time speaking with him from the opposite side. I wish him the very best and look forward to working with him on numerous issues.

Today, I am not armed with some briefing note drafted by civil servants far removed from the realities of rural Ireland, but with the voice of the people I represent. People in places like Goleen, Adrigole and Drimoleague who have not seen a community garda in years. We are told the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act was the most significant reform in two decades but to be honest, I have seen what reform meant the last time and I am not buying the spin. Reform meant shutting 139 Garda stations between 2012…

I join Deputy O'Flynn in congratulating the Minister on his new role. This is the first chance I have had to do so. I look forward to working with him and knowing his history, it will be easy to work with him. This new law is a response to a Supreme Court decision from 22 January 2024 in the case of John O'Meara and others against the Minister for Social Protection. John O'Meara lost his partner Michelle Batey to cancer and Covid-19 in 2021. They had three children together but since they were not married, John cou…

What is being proposed by the Government is a direct threat to Ireland's long-standing neutrality. I will not stay silent while it is being chipped away bit by bit. The triple lock mechanism is not some red tape dreamt up in Brussels; it is a safeguard, which means that Irish troops cannot be sent abroad unless three things happen: Government approval, a vote in the Dáil and, crucially, a United Nations mandate. That is the balance and the brake and now the Government wants to remove it. Let us be honest with the p…

A referendum is what is needed so that the people have a say.

A referendum is the proper place for that. The people of Ireland would send a very clear message to the Government about their feelings on this matter, but it will not allow a referendum on the matter. The Government knows the people do not support this direction, so instead of asking, it is sneaking it through. The Government tells us it is about flexibility and not letting one country's veto stop us from acting, but what it really is about is the first step on a slippery slope. Today, it is about peacekeeping; to…

Everyone in the Dáil has someone close to them suffer from cancer at one stage or another. As I stand here, I express my heartfelt thanks to the Irish Cancer Society and to all who work and care for those suffering from cancer. This coming Friday is daffodil day and I hope people come out to support the cancer society in whatever way they can. A cancer diagnosis turns people's lives upside down. Their daily routines change completely. They cannot work and they still have bills, childcare and mortgages to pay. The l…

If we go ahead today with Government proposals on giving extra time for Government-backing TDs in Opposition time, it shows how far this Government is capable of going in eroding the democracy of the island of Ireland.

Our general election took place on 29 November 2024, and for a couple of months a Government had to be put together. On 22 January, the Dáil sat and for the first time was forced to call off Dáil proceedings so an agreement could be made to bring this speaking row to an end. All of this time we the Opposition were united on one front: that Deputy Lowry's group had a right to speaking time in this Dáil but not on Opposition time.

Every effort by the Government since has been to do everything but that. On the morning of 23 January, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste met with us leaders to end this row and let the Dáil get back to the business it had to do - elect the Taoiseach, set up committees - and we all agreed we would work together to create a solution on this hugely important issue for the country. Less than an hour later, the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, read a statement into the Dáil record. It was agreed by the Taoiseach, Tánaiste a…

-----as they have clearly agreed to support this Government one way or another, which is their own prerogative I may add. The next scheduled meeting of the Dáil reform committee was scheduled for 26 February. At this meeting came the bombshell from the Government Chief Whip, Deputy Mary Butler, that the previous verbal agreement given by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and read out by the Minister of State, Deputy Naughton, was now being reneged on------