Bradley is a 15-year-old boy from my constituency of Meath who is waiting for an urgent orthodontist appointment in Navan, and he is not the only one. Bradley suffers from a severe jawbone condition that requires urgent uninterrupted orthodontic care. For over two years he has endured immense pain, endless procedural cycles and days where he could not even eat solid food. Last October was a milestone when his top brace went on but then the HSE system failed him. His orthodontist went out on unexpected leave and no …

Home-heating oil in Meath was an average €480 for 1,000 litres back in 2020. The average price this year is €1,330 for 1,000 litres with that price for 1,000 litres currently today at €1,649. Families across Meath are being hammered by massive increases week on week. People across Meath have been contacting me each week in shock at the huge jump in the price of home-heating oil and fuel for their vehicles. Seven months into the crisis and, Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Independents have still not removed a single …

Extending the temporary reduction in excise duty on petrol and diesel is welcome, but it needs to be extended until budget day and then reviewed. In my county of Meath, public transport options are limited and cars are necessity. For families, fuel is an unavoidable expense, whether for a car or to heat a home. Ordinary families are stretched to the limit with high mortgages and insurance costs. One in four households cannot pay gas bills. Some 308,000 people are arrears on their electricity bills. Grocery prices a…

Since first being elected to the Dáil, I have repeatedly raised water outages in Trim, Clonard and Ballivor in County Meath. Outages and disruption are causing huge frustration for residents in these areas, and rightly so. Recently, residents in Ballivor went days without water and this forced school closures and disruption to local businesses. Five years on from when the project was announced, construction has not started on the long-promised new water reservoir in Ballivor. Water is tankered in daily. Houses are …

Not a word.

We need to know.

We are talking about genocide.

As of 6 May 2026, more than 72,600 Palestinian had been directly killed by the Israeli invasion of Gaza. Thousands of those were women and children. The United Nations and many humanitarian organisations believe the Gaza health ministry’s figures to be a significant under count with thousands of Gazans still unaccounted for. In 2025, Israel bombed at least six countries – Palestine, Iran, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria and Yemen. It also carried out strikes in Tunisian, Maltese and Greek territorial waters on aid flotillas …

Every day, people with disabilities and their families are forced to pay more just to live an ordinary life. They pay more for transport, heating, medical equipment, care and simply getting through the week. Yet, the Government expects people to survive on a €10 increase to the disability allowance that does not even keep pace with inflation. The Government's Indecon report confirmed the cost of having a disability can range from €9,500 to almost €12,000 per year. The Disability Federation of Ireland found that hou…

Sinn Féin has brought forward legislation that speaks directly to the electricity price hikes facing ordinary workers and families across the State. This Government continues to sit on its hands and act as a spectator while people struggle to pay their bills, pensioners sit in cold homes and young families are forced to choose between heating their homes or putting food on the table. The reality on the ground is that ordinary working people are struggling. Ireland now has the highest electricity prices in the EU. F…

I welcome all the unions in the Gallery today and thank them for their ongoing work in standing up for workers' rights. I acknowledge the Northern Ireland Minister for the economy, Sinn Féin's Caoimhe Archibald MLA, who is currently proposing a good jobs Bill in the North of Ireland, which represents the most significant workers' rights legislation. As we approach May Day, we are reminded that this is not just a moment of reflection, but a call to action and a time to reaffirm our commitment to securing workers' ri…

Shannen is the mother of four children who all have additional needs. Her daughter Evie went to Castlejordan national school in County Meath from junior infants. After meetings with the school, Evie moved to Clonard school, which has an autism class and more resources. In under a year Evie has nearly fully integrated back into mainstream education with access to autism support and she is thriving. Sadly, Evie is now isolated from the local kids and has lost local friendships from a school the family can see from th…

I thank Labour for bringing this Bill forward. As usual, the Government is opposing anything constructive that comes from the Opposition. Paid leave for health screening purposes should be a must for workers. I recognise the employers that already pay their workers for time off for screenings and cancer-related appointments. This is done through their good will. The Government must recognise the significance of this legislation in protecting workers’ rights and ensuring they have access to essential healthcare and …

I recognise the work of the volunteers who fundraise and provide services, such as the Meath Cancer Support Group. I thank those who fundraise for charities, such as LARCC and the Irish Cancer Society, which get very little of their funding from the Government. In my constituency, a service has been set up and provided by the Moylagh JFK 50 Mile Challenge committee, which provides transport to and from treatment free of charge. We cannot give enough thanks and credit to the volunteers who run the service, and those…

I want to ask the Tánaiste about the Government's stance on scrapping the cost of blister packs for the consumer. A lady in my constituency said her 96-year old mother relied on her blister pack, as her eyesight is failing and she could not tell which tablet was which. An employee of a local pharmacy said that many of the patients who had prepacked blister packs knew exactly what meds to take. They felt safer knowing all they had to do was look at the packs. Safety is extremely important when taking medication. The…

I thank People Before Profit for bringing this Bill forward. This Bill would amend the Online Safety and Media Regulation Act 2022 to regulate the use of recommender algorithms by videosharing platforms. Recommender algorithms are purposely built into many online platforms. The sole purpose of a recommender algorithm is to keep the individual engaged as long as possible, act as an influencer and prompt suggestions connected to his or her personal search. In some cases, it sets out to shape a narrative and stir deep…

Over recent years, we have seen that the shift to home-based work and the explicit right to request remote and flexible arrangements can deliver real benefits if managed well. This approach has the potential to shape a fairer and more productive workforce with increased morale. Since the right to request remote work was introduced in 2024, the Workplace Relations Commission has handled roughly 60 complaints. That number reflects both progress and gaps that must be looked at and closed. For thousands, flexible and r…

Workers have often been left vulnerable, especially in times of crisis. When a business becomes insolvent, it is not just about profits or corporate failure; workers are thrown into turmoil. For decades, workers, particularly the lowest paid and most vulnerable among them, have called for support and fairness from the Government. Time and again, low-paid workers have been on the front line. Those working in retail, hospitality, cleaning and other essential sectors have protested and demanded that their voices be he…

We condemn the continued delay in implementing the agreed pension increase for An Post and Eir pensioners, despite a deal brokered between unions, including the Communications Workers' Union, An Post, Eir and Government officials. The agreement provides for payments to more than 7,000 affected An Post pensioners who remain without the payments they were promised. This delay contradicts the Government's stated commitment to protecting vulnerable pensioners and addressing the cost-of-living pressures currently being …

The Minister of State said: The An Post pension increase request is currently under consideration by the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation. This is the final step in the approvals process. The Eir pension increase request is under consideration by officials in my Department. It is important to note that the pension increases cannot be considered agreed or implemented until such time as ministerial approval from both Departments has been obtained. It should be …