When?

I have just spent two long days at the ploughing championships with Independent Ireland. We have had people of all ages and from all walks of life with different problems coming into the tent to talk to us about concerns they have and looking for support. We had people with children with special needs come into us and ask us what had gone wrong and what they could do to help. Why are the resources not being put in place? Why are the Departments with responsibility for disabilities, education and health not talking …

I welcome Patrick. It is great to see a fellow Dromin man in the Gallery. The year 1968 is memorable to the Minister of State because his father was one of the members who set up St. Joseph's Foundation. It was set up to help vulnerable children and adults. It is still running and is a massive service that covers north Cork and south Limerick. Maybe it is time that history repeats itself. He could be the Minister of State who can deliver for young children in this country by reintroducing dentists into our areas an…

It is Maurice.

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. I am here with many friends today. I have the Knocklong Men's Shed and I have Patrick O'Dea here from Dromin. I have Maurice and Elly above in the Gallery and they are both wheelchair users. Maurice is from Granagh. He plays Munster hurling and tag rugby and he works in the HSE. He is 25. Maurice told me he had lost out on so much with his friends because the facilities were not there for wheelchair users. They are there in public buildings, but they are not in other businesses. Maurice…

-----to see what we can do to help people in that situation.

For leisure.

I wish to remember and acknowledge the late Mark Ryan who with his brother, David, was instrumental in the establishment of the scoping inquiry. There are no words for what has happened here. What was going through my head when I was coming over here is that, in this country, we commemorated 100 years of the troubles that we had. We are looking at this from 1927 to 2013. When you look at that in context, I do not know where the words are going to come from. I welcome this commission, I really do. Is it a little too…

Any price gouging by any major supermarket holder should be transparent. All their profits should be shown. Some people look at the smaller outlets whose turnover is up but whose profits are down. It is some of the major ones we need to look at to see why this is. We also have to look at the part the Government has played in this. It introduced wage increases, which we welcomed, but where does it come back to? It is being added on to the people who are going in buying the food. When you look at the tax regime the G…

That is true.

What will the Government put in place after the recent bomb find in Limerick near Aughinish Alumina? This was near a Russian-owned business. Five bombs were found in Ireland - three in the South, two in the North. What will be done about looking at Russian-owned buildings and properties in this country to protect the Irish people in case somebody targets them, especially in Limerick, where this happened? People in Askeaton are frightened that something like this might happen again. What will the Government put in p…

From my first day here I have been telling people I have been in the construction industry all my life. I will give colleagues whatever experience I can. Infrastructure is the key and being on budget and on time. From the time Irish Water was set up, it has not brought in one project on budget or on time. If anything, it is over budget all the time. That is the problem. Let it be developer-led infrastructure. Let them build the infrastructure to the design of Irish Water, standards which are there to be seen. Let i…

I thank all the students who are here today and all their families who are encouraging them to go to college. Parents now have to choose. If they have two children to go to college, they may not be able to afford it. Inflation costs at the moment are putting a massive strain on family life for the students and for all families. The Government has not provided adequate accommodation for students to go to college. The colleges do not have the accommodation. They have to try to get accommodation as close as they can t…

Look at them in the eye. Why cannot you look at them in the eye?

This is the first time you stuck your head up since you came in.

Now for round two.

I am not against wind farms or biodigesters but I am for health guidelines being adhered to. It has been shown in the documentation I have here, released under access to information on the environment regulations, that in November 2021 and April 2022 the then Minister, former Deputy Eamon Ryan, and the Minister, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, agreed to abandon the 2017 preferred draft approach to wind energy guidelines, a plan based on science and environmental law and a format approved by Government. Instead of following…

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. We have had guidelines since 2006. The Tánaiste is right; it has taken 12 years where we are looking at guidelines. Every time there is a change of Government, it is guidelines, guidelines, guidelines. If there are guidelines put in place for wind turbines in this country, at least they can be put up straight away. You will not have High Court battles or objections because the guidelines will be there. It is the same for biodigesters. It is the exact same thing. If guidelines are…

I thank the speakers who spoke in support of this motion. However, I saw the reply from the Minister and the 28 proposals amending what we proposed. They are a copy and paste. That does not give me any encouragement that the Minister is listening. What does Independent Ireland have that the Government and Department do not have? We have common sense. The Taoiseach, Deputy Micheál Martin, said on the floor of the House last week that the majority of common sense is coming from this corner. Why is that? Why do we kno…

Garda Tom Flavin was suspended from An Garda Síochána in 2018. He has been cleared of all 22 charges. It took the legal system seven years for a Garda investigation. He has now been reinstated. He had his sergeant exam done before he was suspended. Seven years were lost to a Garda investigation and others are ongoing. How long does it take for the Garda to investigate itself? We did without eight gardaí in Limerick because it took so long. Can this be sped up? When justice gets it wrong, it should have to reinstate…