With Galway's great win over Dublin last Saturday, I received a huge number of phone calls, some before and many more after the match, from people who were very aggravated that they could not watch the two championship matches on Saturday afternoon, Roscommon versus Armagh and Galway versus Dublin. Many of the people who contacted me are the people who built the GAA, former players and officers of the clubs who gave their time and commitment to the GAA in years gone by. Many people look forward to sitting down at t…

I have raised various issues regarding law and order with several taoisigh and Ministers for Justice going back through the years. I have produced figures in this House showing how more than 32,000 crimes a year are being committed by offenders while out on bail, an increase of 41% on the total of ten years ago, and amounting to about 90 crimes every day of the year. We are paying out more than €75 million a year on free legal aid in criminal cases, very often footing the bill for serial offenders with hundreds of …

Many people refusing to pay fines could be repeat offenders who have no respect whatsoever for the law. I am sure it is frustrating for An Garda Síochána, which carries out investigations and brings offenders to court, only for them to get off scot-free without paying fines or being punished for their crimes. We have to show the law-abiding citizens of our country that people who go before the courts and are fined are made to pay. Whether that is a payment or deduction from their social welfare or wages, they must …

The processing of grant of probate is currently taking 17 to 20 weeks on average. I have been contacted on a regular basis, as I am sure many Members of the House have been, by constituents frustrated by the delays, especially when they need to sell a property or asset and the sale is being held up. Earlier this year, the property agent Lisney said that continuing delays in the Probate Office will affect the housing market this year. As probate sales account for at least one third of the supply in the housing marke…

I thank Cáit Nic Amhlaoibh for all the work she did in putting this motion together. We continually hear praise being lavished on people who act as full-time carers for others. They are often described as heroes, and rightly so. However, the motion we are discussing today is an attempt to go further and do something concrete for the people who look after the most vulnerable in our society. It is not right that families should struggle to pay their bills because even a relatively modest household income makes them f…

Hear, hear.

University Hospital Galway was one of the most overcrowded hospitals in the country in 2023 and the situation is getting worse. On several occasions, including in this House, I have suggested that the establishment of a minor injuries unit in Merlin Park Hospital grounds would be an immediate and cost-effective method of relieving the overcrowding and stress at the emergency department in University Hospital Galway. A minor injuries unit is operating at Roscommon and it takes an average of 55 minutes to be seen, tr…

The Government will not give us one.

What additional resources will be given to local authorities to better enforce illegal dumping laws following the introduction of legislation clearing the way for the use of drones, CCTV and other technology in detecting offenders?

I have raised several times in the House the issue of illegal dumping and the need for local authorities to be allowed to use CCTV footage to help to prosecute offenders in the courts. It has taken a long time but, finally, councils are to be legally permitted to use this and similar technologies in their efforts to clamp down on this scourge, which is destroying the countryside and towns. Unless councils are given extra resources to use and monitor these technologies, however, it will have been a toothless exercis…

I thank the Minister of State for his reply. It has been estimated that it is costing local authorities throughout the country tens of millions of euro to clean up after people who are carrying out illegal dumping. I have raised previously in the House with the Minister, Deputy Ryan, who is seated beside the Minister of State, and on Leaders' Questions the issue of what is happening on the outskirts of Galway city, in Brocklagh, Castlegar, where there is constant illegal dumping and burning of tyres, copper wire an…

They did so.

I will send the Minister of State the pictures and the video recording. He will be shocked.

Garda vetting of volunteers is something that every sporting club in the country and every charitable organisation has to undertake. Currently, a person coaching a local children's GAA team who also helps out with the local soccer club and maybe volunteers with the local Meals on Wheels and other charities has to go through the whole process for each one separately. Last year, the Garda National Vetting Bureau handled more than 585,000 vetting applications. That is equivalent to more than 11,000 a week, a considera…

I have raised the issue of our bail laws in this House several times and I feel compelled to do so once again today. That is because, according to the latest figures I have received from the CSO, more than 275,000 crimes have been committed in this country in the past ten years by people who were out on bail, having been charged with other offences. These crimes range from murders to theft, and sexual offences to burglary, and the situation is getting worse. In 2022, for which statistics have only recently become a…

Eighty-five murders have been committed by people out on bail over recent years. I appreciate that some efforts have been made over the years to strengthen the bail laws but the figures speak for themselves. More than 32,000 crimes a year are now being committed by people who had been charged with other offences and are out on bail. More often than not, their court appearances are being totally funded by the taxpayers of this country, who have forked out millions to pay for free legal aid. Free legal aid in crimina…

I move: That Dáil Éireann: recognises that: — Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) are a critical pillar of the Irish economy; — the people who create and lead SMEs throughout the country are incredibly diverse, from family-owned businesses, rural-owner managers, traditional to high growth and technology start-ups; — there are more than 1.2 million people employed by SMEs in Ireland; — according to the Central Statistics Office, SMEs represent up to 99.8 per cent of active enterprises, with 69.2 per cent pers…

I utterly condemn the brutal Hamas attack on 7 October, when 1,200 innocent Israeli people died but does the death of 1,200 innocent people equate to the death of 30,000 innocent civilians in Gaza? This number continues to rise daily as the humanitarian crisis grows. Ireland has great friends in the United States Senate and Congress and in the White House. Will the Taoiseach use his influence and that of his Government with contacts in Washington to put pressure on the Biden Administration? Will he use whatever cha…

It is no exaggeration to say that smaller businesses are the lifeblood of the country. Micro, small and medium-sized enterprises provide employment for more than 1.2 million people. They are at the heart of every city and town, down to the smallest village. Every one of them supports employment in other enterprises which are their suppliers. Today, they are struggling. Their viability is threatened. Who in this House cannot list the names of a dozen or more enterprises in their constituencies that have closed in re…

I thank the Minister for his reply. The Regional Group met Adrian Cummins and Adam Hallissey of the Restaurants Association of Ireland yesterday. They outlined the serious crisis facing the hospitality sector. They told us that the 50% increase in the VAT rate from 9% to 13.5% has resulted in more than 300 businesses closing since it came into effect, with most of the remaining businesses having to absorb this VAT increase as they could not pass on the increased costs to their customers. Most restaurants operate at…