This is a short Bill on paper, but one that carries significant consequences for how transport is planned and delivered across the country. Nobody on this side of the House is against better public transport. Far from it. For far too long, rural Ireland and regions like west Cork have been left behind when it comes to investment in transport infrastructure. People in our communities have been crying out for reliable bus services, safer networks and real connectivity for decades. In principle, any effort to improve …

I am not blaming the Minister of State. He is not the NTA. I will sit down with him, though. God Almighty, I would be delighted to do that. I appreciate his offer. I take-----

I am onto the NTA. I am on the board. I should not have to come to the Minister of State. I am there as a volunteer to deliver for people through the right channels, not to be running to the Minister of State's door every five minutes. I will go to the Minister of State, though. I appreciate that and anyone who offers an open door. I am not coming here to criticise. I am coming here to create solutions. There are solutions there. There is not a need to be blowing a budget here and there because we cannot get every …

Let us stop pretending that we do not understand the problem. The Government has had evidence for decades now, but what has changed for people with disabilities? The answer is very little, and the proof of the failure in this regard lies in the figures. Disabled people are far more likely to be living in poverty, not slightly more but multiple times more. We are talking about poverty rates of over 30% in some cases when disability costs are taken into account. We are talking about consistent poverty rates four time…

Independent Ireland supports Deputy Stanley's motion. Some people in politics today are trying to paint neutrality as old-fashioned, outdated or somehow weak. The people of Ireland do not see it that way at all. The people understand neutrality because it is about independence. It is about Ireland making its own decisions, not taking orders from Brussels or NATO and not being dragged into conflicts that are not ours. For generations, neutrality has served this country well. We are a small nation, but we have earned…

I will start where Deputy O'Donoghue left off in his excellent speech. I will just give an overview of where people stand in relation to NAMA. This Bill marks what the Government will present as a final chapter in the State's response to the banking collapse. We are being asked to wind up NAMA and transfer what remains of the IBRC into the NTMA to close the emergency structures created during one of the darkest periods in our financial history. In principle, that is the right thing to do. These bodies were always m…

I want to speak on behalf of ordinary decent people out there who did the right thing all their lives. They worked hard, saved carefully and tried to put some money aside for their retirement. The problem is what happens when they are struck down with cancer, which is a very serious ailment that can in some cases lead to life-threatening situations. In more cases, it does not and they make a good recovery. There has to be some leverage there for these people who have gone back to normal life and deserve that unders…

I have been looking for a debate about short-term lets in the Dáil for the past two or three months. Yes, the can has been kicked down the road, and that is different from what the Government was saying for long enough, but the public needs to know what the future for them is in relation to short-term lets. A debate is warranted immediately.

It is now taking anything from four to six weeks for Garda vetting to be returned by the national vetting bureau. This is having a very real and immediate impact on the early years sector, a sector that, frankly, should be an absolute priority. Services are operating strict staff-to-child ratios and because of these delays, some are being forced to close rooms. That, in turn, is creating a huge knock-on effect for working parents who rely on these services every single day. We clearly need a more efficient, portabl…

Earlier this year, the Minister launched an important report in Clonakilty on wintering waterbirds. It highlighted the important good data habitat protection and the work being done by local communities. However, we also need to deal with the gaps. We still do not have a national bag data collection system. That has been an issue for years. The National Association of Regional Game Councils, which represents thousands of people in rural Ireland, has repeatedly offered to work with the Department to provide that dat…

I have been in the House for over ten years and in that ten years, the Government has got it wrong. That is the bottom line. It does not matter where it is; whether it is urban or rural, the Government has got it all wrong in relation to housing and the crisis has gone from bad to worse. I hear a lot of Opposition Members shouting and attacking developers. I would not be in that attacking mode at all about the people who build the houses in the first place because we would not have the houses without them. There is…

On 15 April, I raised with the Taoiseach this issue about patients of the highly respected Dr. Fiona O'Reilly in the greater Clonakilty surrounds, who are not being seen by SouthDoc after-hours services, due to Dr. O'Reilly discontinuing her membership with SouthDoc. On 23 April, I received what I would call an angry reply from SouthDoc management, telling me that I failed to seek clarification on the issue from the SouthDoc regarding the facts. What South Doc management does not realise is I am a TD and a servant …

This Bill will widen the grounds for abortion after a baby is diagnosed with a life-limiting condition. Currently, the law allows abortion if the baby is not expected to live longer than 28 days after birth. This would be changed to allowing abortion if there is a fatal condition affecting the foetus, which is a more broad and general phrase. It is hard for most of us to imagine just what it means for parents who had been happily looking forward to the birth of a new baby to hear that something is seriously wrong. …

Local Link has been a game-changer for many communities throughout the country. I pay tribute to all those who have helped to deliver the service but, alarmingly, in recent times, new services where tenders were sought and received have been unable to run due to funding constraints. Services from Dunmanway to Clonakilty, Grange to Timoleague, and Bantry via Kealkill to Macroom were put out to tender seven or eight months ago. They were tendered for and now they have been told there is no money to run the services. …

Nobody disputes the need to save lives on our roads. Where there are real black spots, enforcement has its place. Let me be very clear that rural Ireland cannot be treated as an afterthought here. People outside of our small towns and cities rely on their cars every single day to walk, to farm and to bring children to school because public transport simply is not there. This strategy must not become another layer of penalties and surveillance on already stretched rural motorists. Camera locations must be based on r…

Let us cut to the chase with the language of these amendments and get to the reality of what people are asking at home. The foreign fishing vessels in our waters are, by and large, not there illegally. We all know that. They are there under EU rules. If they were acting illegally, though, would this legislation actually stop them? Would we see real enforcement or more talking while Irish waters were left exposed? Fishers along our coast have heard it all before - promises of protection and action - but when push co…

In principle, we will be supporting the Bill because of the importance it holds for the much-needed projects out there. I was in Galway recently and I met a lot of people in relation to Galway University Hospital. Staff are working in shocking conditions, with scaffolding in place for the past two years slattering around the place like frisbees. It is a bit of a joke in this modern era in which we live. Some 4,000 brilliant staff are trying to work under those conditions. Who has the final say as to where all these…

I was going to mention the short-term lets and the legislation and the looming date of 20 May, but the advanced paramedics are out on strike today. I refer to the disrespect that is being shown to them. It is a long-standing pay dispute, going on since 2020. We need an urgent debate on it today in the House.

I thank nurses across the country. Without them, we would not have a health service, but the reality is that student nurses are being worked full time caring for patients while struggling to afford rent, transport and food. Much of this work is unpaid. Travel accommodation and fuel costs are pushing students into debt, hardship and even homelessness just to qualify. By the time they graduate, many are already burned out. That is not sustainable. If we want nurses to stay, we must support them properly during traini…

In recent years, energy suppliers operating in Ireland recorded profits running into hundreds of millions of euro, even as households struggled with some of the highest electricity prices in Europe. That reality is why stronger transparency, oversight and consumer protection are not only justified, but necessary. This pressure has been felt most sharply in rural Ireland. When people in rural areas do not have access to cash, they have no alternative. They rely on electricity, oil and solid fuel, often in older home…