Labour are finished in this House. They are finished in Irish politics. They are history.

Deputy Murphy is a disgrace.

Garda morale is at an all-time low. There is no Garda leadership in this country. Garda stations have been closed. Crime is on the rise in our cities and in the countryside and people are feeling in danger. This was the case well before the outbreak of this recent mindless crime in Dublin, when our capital city was in grave danger. I saw this situation for myself. There were shocking scenes by night and the Minister was in complete denial. Ministers are pointing at far-right people who caused these crimes. This is …

First, I thank Deputy Shanahan and the Regional Independent Group for championing this Bill, which aims to enhance transparency in capital spending. The Bill requires all Ministers to submit detailed annual reports and capital allocations covering projects exceeding €500,000 from four years prior. This timeframe avoids interference with procurement and commercial agreements. What sets this Bill apart is its ability to shed light on where and how funds are allocated, and whether such spending addresses regional disp…

During last week's flying visit to Ireland, the EU environmental Commissioner ruled out any movement on nitrates reduction in this country. This was astonishing given that in my constituency, the leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil came to west Cork to meet farmers who had ticked all the boxes environmentally, thereby leaving them with hope of some movement. These farmers and others were keeping thousands of in-calf heifers throughout west Cork and elsewhere in the country in the expectation of at least an extensi…

Ongoing financial support from the State through the horse and greyhound racing fund is pivotal to the viability of both industries, which, combined, have an economic impact of nearly €2.5 billion and benefit 40,000 people through direct and indirect employment. The legacy of horse and greyhound racing is deeply rooted in the Irish cultural fabric. Ireland is renowned globally for its outstanding standards in breeding and training for both racehorses and greyhounds. The economic impact of horse racing as an industr…

My thoughts and prayers, like others, are with all who were hurt last Thursday. There have been many commentaries as to who carried out the scandalous carry-on last Thursday night. Some Labour Party TDs, who dream that they know it all, have been inciting all sorts of hatred inside here in the Dáil. This surely needs controlling and will be dealt with by us. Everyone knows, however, where the Labour Party is going in this country. There have also been comments from the Garda Commissioner, Drew Harris, who almost im…

Almost every week here in the Dáil, a question over our neutrality is raised. It seems the Irish Government, including both Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, are eating away at our neutrality, for whatever reason, I do not know. Our Defence Forces have been under-resourced for decades, leaving this country wide open to attack if we in any way play around with our neutrality, which has served us well. We should be using our neutrality in a far more positive way to create peace across the world, but instead we seem to want …

The lowering of the nitrates derogation from 250 kg N/ha to 220 kg N/ha will have devastating consequences for clean Irish agriculture. Farmers throughout the country have spent tens of thousands to bring their farms up to environmental standards, with very few of them now falling behind. Despite the huffing and puffing, it looks like the Government has thrown in the towel on fighting to keep the nitrates derogation at 250 kg N/ha, with some political figures accepting that keeping it at 220 kg N/ha is the next cha…

I will try anyway. I will start by wishing the Minister the very best on the birth of her grandchild. What a joyous occasion it must be for her. It is a bit unfortunate that she is here with us today but we will try and speed this up. I offer great congratulations to the Minister and her family. It is a beautiful thing to hear a child crying inside here, as we did a moment ago. It is a lovely sound and the Minister probably has many hours of that ahead of her. I wish her the best of luck. If I could ask for indulge…

I and my colleagues in the Rural Independent Group condemn all war and violence. We also condemn the killing of innocent people in this war but we do so by condemning both sides and not turning a blind eye to what happened on 7 October, when women were raped by Hamas terrorists, others were killed and children were killed. Over 200 hostages were taken into Gaza by Hamas and up to 1,200 people were killed, including 200 who were attending a musical festival. Just stand back and imagine if a terrorist group from the …

I was delighted to hear, a little while ago, that nine-year-old Emily Hand is now on a list of hostages to be released. Please God, that is followed through for her family and the people who have been extremely stressed about her well-being. Let us not forget that if we had expelled ambassadors and gone ahead with the drama that Members were calling for in the Dáil last week, this might not have happened. Some hostages are now being released and there is some sort of a ceasefire. That is only going to come through …

As the Taoiseach knows, I have warned for years about the potential for an energy crisis and our exposure to elevated prices. Sadly, what I had warned about has come to pass. The current energy crisis has disrupted our economy and driven inflation on a massive scale. It poses real risks to our economy as, like it or not, we are dependent on oil and gas for the functioning of our economy. Even with a massive renewable build, we will still need gas as our backup fuel for electricity. We still do not know how the Ukra…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. The Minister, Deputy Ryan, has confirmed that the new facility, which is likely to cost hundreds of millions of euros to build, will be funded by a new levy on consumer gas bills. The Green Party loves taxing the Irish people. It seems to have a fierce habit of that. I presume the Taoiseach will not agree with that. There are already taxes on fuel, as well as a carbon tax. Where is our carbon tax money going to go? Why can it not be put into a facility like this, which I fully a…

In recent weeks, Transport Infrastructure Ireland, TII, published advice it gave to the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, in October 2022 that delaying road projects in Mullingar, Cork, Leixlip, Cahir and Limerick would lead to 77 deaths and 381 serious injuries but he ignored that advice. This ignored report did not even look at our minor roads which are starved of funding. One municipal district in west Cork needs at least €5 million to bring roads up the standard. It got a little over €2 million which will not even s…

I do not support this Bill and I will not be supporting it going forward. The right to protest and the freedom to exercise one's religion are pillars of a democratic society. By eroding these rights through restrictive measures, we risk sliding down a slippery slope towards an authoritarian regime that is far stronger than what I would ever have expected. I believe in the basic right of peaceful protest.

They have no respect for anyone, by the look of it. I believe in peaceful protest but there have been statements made in this Chamber to say that women should never be blocked going for any medical care. Of course they should not be blocked, regardless of what medical care is, but I cannot understand what the problem is with the right to peacefully protest within a certain slight area away from the building. I cannot understand that that is where democracy in this country is going to. People here inside the Dáil ar…

I am delighted to get the opportunity to speak about this Bill. I think I was the only politician from County Cork, if not Munster, who made an open submission to the Electoral Commission. To be honest, I feel it was ignored, much to the detriment of many the areas in west Cork that have been put into north Cork. The last census proved that the population of west Cork has grown. If I had listened to rumours, the only place that I would have been left to stand in, as I said to someone one day, would have been Goleen…

I fully support the calls for a ceasefire, expressing our deep concern over civilian casualties. The recent focus on Gaza's hospitals is atrocious and must stop. Unfortunately, these hospitals are reported to be a potential Hamas headquarters, which raises serious concerns about civilian safety. In fact, Hamas was reported last week to have used communication channels to warn civilians not to leave the hospital. If true, this would be abominable. Unfortunately, hospitals and other medical facilities have become cau…

In my view, elder care is at a very low ebb. As such, I commend Labour on putting forward this motion, which is an important one. It is impossible to get home help for many of my own constituents. People who are trying to get out of hospital cannot get out of hospital. It is a sad situation that they find themselves in, having to stay in hospital before a home care package can be put in place. It leaves them in hospital even though they are able-bodied enough medically to be able to leave, but need help at home tha…