I want to recall that not that many weeks ago fishermen gave up 24 or 36 hours to come to Dublin to make their voices heard and speak up for their industry, which was under attack. Now, more than ever before, we must concentrate on the protection of those fishermen’s livelihoods. Regarding this amendment, we must always ensure that we as politicians always have the interests of our own fishermen most at heart. I state that because it is true that one of the most upsetting things it is possible to think of is our na…

I have grave concerns with this local property tax, and I have studied it greatly. My colleagues in the Rural Independent Group share these concerns. Many people living in rural areas may have as part of their dwelling an outhouse, such as a garage or a shed, that they may have built when they were starting out and then improved over the years. Now, those people are faced with the prospect of an improved shed, which could be a turf shed with parts of it used for other purposes such as for timber or storage, being l…

I support the Sinn Féin Deputies tonight. This is a very important subject and a very important amendment. It deserves to be supported because it is not many weeks ago that we met the good people who came here to protest. There were grandparents, parents and young children who were living in homes that were crumbling around them. After every weather event, be it frost or rain, their houses changed overnight and more cracks and more disintegration occurred. There could be nothing more upsetting, worrying or financia…

I thank Sinn Féin very sincerely for bringing forward this very important motion. At the very beginning, I must say to all the families who very sadly lost loved persons and loved family members and relatives in nursing homes, or indeed anyhow during the pandemic, we have to sympathise with them this evening. It would be wrong and neglectful not to do so at the very start of every contribution, and to pray for those people who left because of this illness and whose time in this world was cut short. For that we are …

I am a small farmer, I own forestry land and I have worked for many years in the forestry services. I have raised with the current and past Governments the need for carbon credits to be given to farmers and others involved in forestry. As the Taoiseach will be aware, the Minister, Deputy Eamon Ryan, denied many amendments by the Rural Independent Group and others, including those seeking carbon credits, but I believe that in recent days he has had a conversion. This is the second time during Leaders' Questions that…

Not to kill the Taoiseach's comeback, I will make just one statement: forestry planting has fallen 70% short of Government targets for 2020. That is a damning indictment of this Government. I will continue by finishing what I was saying about electricity. The Green Party and the Government are telling us all to use more electricity. At the same time, the Taoiseach knows we ran dangerously close to outages. I would be very surprised if we do not have electricity outages this coming winter because of Government polic…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing forward this very important Bill. Any discussion that can be had in this Dáil to try to help the situation and highlight the need to build more houses is welcome. It is a supply and demand issue at the end of the day. There is one thing we must be very careful about. I have heard people this evening, well-intentioned people, as good as ridiculing those involved in the private supply of housing and making out that they are wrong and somehow doing something out of the way. Nothing could…

I thank and congratulate Deputy Bríd Smith on bringing forward this important Bill. Its provisions aim to correct some of the anomalies in current legislation by providing scope for redress to affected pensioners in the event of disputes arising or changes being made to their pensions. Currently, the trade union movement is prevented from representing pensioners as its remit is confined to workers. It is impossible to find any reference to pensioners in existing Industrial Relations Acts. The retirees of the ESB an…

I appreciate being allowed the time to speak. I welcome this legislation. It is important and prudent that we put in place the necessary legal framework for outdoor dining. While I appreciate the efforts that have been made by businesses for outdoor dining and the rush that was put on, I always say that we must not lose the run of ourselves. It is a fine evening in Dublin, but we must remember that we are not in Puerto del Carmen in Lanzarote, the south of Spain or somewhere like that. Much of the time, it is too c…

We are trying to get clarification and avoid confusion. One concern I have is the matter of people who are leasing a premises. By their nature, many restaurants and public houses are leased, and those people are seeking assurance and clarity on the licensing and implementation of the new regulations. The one bit of news I have for the Minister of State, not willing to burst the bubble on the outdoor dining scene, is that it is supposed to rain on Friday. While the sun might be shining down now, we really have to co…

I thank the Minister, Deputy Coveney, and his staff for the work they have done on this very important business. The changes set out in these amendments are necessary, as he stated, and for the betterment of the Defence Forces. It is right and proper at this time for Members of the House to recognise the great work done by our full-time Defence Forces and Reserve personnel and the service they have given over the years, both here and overseas. In particular, I know the Minister will be grateful and thankful for the…

I am very glad of the opportunity to speak on the Land Development Agency Bill 2021. This is terribly important work. It is also terribly important that we strike a balance. On a personal basis, Deputy Boyd Barrett knows that I like him as a person, and he always cheers me up when we meet each other, but I have to say I would hate to rely on him to build even a henhouse. If we were relying on him, the henhouse would never get built. I do not like to personalise but while a good deal of what Deputy Boyd Barrett has …

I am grateful for this opportunity to speak. First of all, I commend, congratulate and welcome the work that is being done by local authority members, obviously starting off in County Kerry. I appreciate, however, the good work that is done by county councillors in formulating county development plans and local area plans. A lot of the work is unheard of but it is very important work in their localities. Regardless of whatever political breed or party or whatever they are - I do not care about that - I thank them f…

I will speak about the matter at hand, which is the national maternity hospital and the fact that this project was first announced in 2013, almost eight years ago. Like the national children's hospital, the real scandal with this development is the skyrocketing costs. In 2013, the original cost was in the region of €150 million. The cost has risen by-----

I am sorry. I will take it off and put on my own. I want to support the fishermen who are here today from our coastal communities.

Thank you. I am sorry. I neglected it as I was rushing. The costs have risen by more than 100% to an estimated €350 million. That was by 2018. In 2021, last Friday, we were told by the Minister for Health that the building infrastructure cost had been priced at €500 million. Further commissioning costs including fit-out and transferring an entire hospital to a new site will be a further €300 million. That is €800 million, over four times the original cost or an increase of over 400%. There seems to be another lack …

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to speak to this very important Bill. One of the biggest elephants in the room, and one of the biggest issues facing students who are seeking accommodation, is the need to increase the availability of affordable accommodation for students. Increasing accommodation is the most effective way to provide real choice and options. The lack of student accommodation is very much linked to the lack of supply of housing in university and third level education towns throughout the cou…

I am very grateful for the opportunity to speak on this important issue. I, of course, support Sinn Féin's very genuine and heartfelt motion. My late mother always said one could judge any government or society on how it treats people who are getting to an older age and how those people are respected. Past governments certainly did not shroud themselves in glory in the way they treated our older people. When it comes to pensions, it should be about choice. If a person is in the good form and health that means they …

I thank the Acting Chairman for giving me his speaking time on this issue. I very much appreciate the opportunity. At a time when the Government and the Department are trying to envisage every way they can stop people from living in the countryside, it is more important than ever that local authorities be given the wherewithal to purchase land at affordable rates and do what they used always do and what they were good at, that is, buying a piece of ground and getting a local building contractor to build local autho…

On a point of order and in support of Deputy Mattie McGrath, I believe that what is happening here is fundamentally wrong because there is not enough time being allowed to discuss all the amendments that are before us.