There was a recent announcement of funding for roads in County Clare. An amount of €2.5 million has been allocated for the Drumeen to Darragh section of the N68. It is stated that this is for pavements. Yet, after a back-and-forth, the senior engineer in Clare County Council has stated that it is for resurfacing works on the road in question. A local campaign group has been calling for safety measures on this road. A Garda report shows that there have been 33 collisions on the road and that some of them involved fa…

Last night, I attended a meeting of well over 1,000 people. They were SNAs, parents and students. I listened to heartbreaking stories of fear and anxiety but I also heard stories of hope, of children who flourished, found their voice, were full of confidence because they had the support of a special needs assistant by their side. Today, after a brutal decision to cut SNAs, the Minister comes in here talking about no cuts and an extended pause. That is not compassion; that is a rowing back because of the public back…

Bad tone.

I thank my colleague, Deputy Doherty, for tabling the motion. The housing crisis continues to deepen for ordinary workers, families and children. We have children growing up in emergency accommodation and in overcrowded homes while their parents are being outbid for homes by vulture funds. Despite repeated promises to address this issue, the Government continues to allow this practice, meaning those struggling to buy a home have their hopes of owning a home taken away by vulture funds that can buy up to ten houses …

As soon as I read the Bill, I knew straight away, going by the data, that students would be badly affected by this. The Bill will have profound and deeply damaging consequences for students and we must call this for what it is: another failure of this Government's broken housing policy. Students are at the very heart of this housing crisis. Young people trying to make their lives better are having their dreams of education dashed because they either cannot find accommodation or simply cannot afford it. Some student…

I thank Deputies Devine and Carthy for this very important and timely Bill. Speedy action on this is required now; not next year, not after another review, but now. During the period from 29 December 2025 through to 9 January 2026, Grok is estimated to have generated approximately 3 million sexualised images, including 23,000 that appear to depict children. Let us be absolutely clear on this, these are children. The question that must be asked is very simple: why did the Government not act immediately on this? Acco…

Under this Residential Tenancies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Bill, students will be among the hardest hit. At a time when students are already being pushed to the pin of their collar and students’ unions are having to set up food banks, the Government is choosing to turn its back on them once again with this Fianna Fáil-Fine Gael, rip-off rent hike Bill. Under these proposals, student-specific accommodation rents can be reset every three years, opening the door to higher rents and greater insecurity for students and…

The Bord Bia quality and trust mark is something I trust and look for as a consumer. It means something to people. It tells us that what we are eating is safe, meets the highest standards and comes from our land. The fact that I can trace what I am eating back to a farmer or field in Ireland is reassuring and something I value deeply, not just because you are what you eat, but because it allows me to know I am contributing to supporting local farmers and suppliers who work tirelessly to uphold those standards. This…

When will the student accommodation strategy be released? Will it contain proposals to allow the providers of private student accommodation to hike rents more often than those in purpose-built student accommodation?

On 6 February 2025, the Minister announced that a new student accommodation strategy was in development, which would be completed in 2025. We were then told that the much-awaited strategy would be delivered in quarter 4 of 2025. We are now in 2026. While we are told the strategy will be published in the coming weeks, we still do not have a definitive date and the gap between strategies is growing further apart. From March, student-specific accommodation providers will be able to reset rents to market value, and eve…

As I said, it is welcome that the rent hikes will be attached to the property rather than the tenants but the Minister is talking in the context of purpose-built student accommodation. What about those in private accommodation such as digs and private homes? Will they get any protection? We know housing is one of the biggest costs in a student's life, and the majority of students are in the private rental market. While rents are already unaffordable, if we continue to rely on private rental supply, rents will conti…

Why do SUSI grants show a steady yearly rate of difference between funds awarded and funds paid? Given the consistent numbers being refused SUSI grants annually - with the largest number of refusals being on the grounds of insufficient documentation to confirm eligibility - will the Minister introduce reforms to reduce the rate of refusal?

In 2023 and 2024, approximately 22% were unsuccessful. In the subsequent academic year, the figure was 21%. There seems to be a percentage that is common across the years. I am given to understand that SUSI is a demand-based scheme. In other words, whatever moneys are not spent are handed back. Is there a cap on the number of SUSI grants that can be paid out or is the fund indefinite in nature? While I welcome the year-on-year drop in the numbers refused due to the increase in the household income threshold, I am s…

I have the figures in front of me. A total of 4,924 applicants were refused because they were over the income threshold. However, the means test applies to the previous year and does not take into account things like job losses, although I am aware that there is a fund for people to whom that happens. One of the main reasons for refusal is insufficient documentation to confirm eligibility. Within that, many applicants from the North are not able to access SUSI because they do not conform and do not have the right d…

I thank the Social Democrats for this motion. Constituents and disability support groups across County Clare have been contacting me. They are shocked and deeply disappointed that this Government is refusing to call for an emergency winter payment for people with disabilities. They cannot understand how money can be found for developers and for those who are already flush, yet people with disabilities have to make the stark decision to eat or to have heat. The Taoiseach has stated that such a measure is not fiscall…

That is what they have to do.

I commend Teachta Sorca Clarke on this very important motion. We urgently need fundamental reform of the State’s emergency mental health services. The failure is being felt in Clare and the mid-west. Let me tell a personal story. A few years ago, my nephew was found hanging but we were extremely fortunate that he was still alive. He was taken down and brought by ambulance to a hospital but, because it was at the time of Covid, his mother was not allowed to travel with him. When he arrived at the accident and emerge…

This Bill represents a piecemeal approach from this Government. It is the third Bill in three years, with another one on the way. That tells its own story. Instead of this Government using forward thinking and having a modern, comprehensive approach, we are left reacting, catching up and legislating bit by bit. Sinn Féin has sought a ban on single-use vapes for years. They are highly wasteful and damaging to the environment. Yet, this Bill will really only target products that are already being phased out, while fa…

I attended the protest in Athlone on Saturday. It was a very powerful demonstration and reflection of what the people think of this deal. People travelled from all across Ireland to be there. It was a clear message that this deal will impact everyone, urban and rural alike, particularly when it comes to food safety, food security and fairness. The day before the deal was agreed, the Government claimed that it was voting against it, but let us be honest: it did it because it knew it was going through anyway. It was …

When the story first broke about the blister packs, my office was inundated with calls. People contacted me not only asking why but expressing their disgust and anger and a deep sense that once again the most vulnerable in our society are being left behind, forgotten and treated as an afterthought by this Government. Whatever way they get their blister packs, it is not their fault that they were getting them for free and now they may have to pay for them.