While we welcome that the basic income for artists pilot scheme is extended until February, we are now in February and just a week away from the scheme coming to an end and we are still none the wiser as to when the promised follow-up scheme will be up and running, who will be able to apply and how they will be selected. Forty-seven out of the 174 artists in my county of Mayo who applied were successful and benefited hugely from this scheme but when will the new scheme be opened for applicants and when will it star…

This Bill must be called out for what it is. It is a Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael rip-off rent hike Bill and it must be stopped. I will tell the Minister the reasons why. The Government should be cutting rents, not facilitating them to rise even further. Rents are already out of control and renters are drowning in a cost-of-living crisis. Yet, the Government's response is to tear up what little protection remains and hand a gift to big institutional investors. At the centre of this Bill is the so-called market reset a…

I want to speak on behalf of the fishermen of this island who are warning that 2026 will be the worst year the sector has ever faced after drastic reductions to fish quotas and cuts to the key stocks. The industry is facing an imminent existential threat. The Government recently announced the establishment of a task force to support the industry and coastal communities. I certainly welcome that. I ask the Taoiseach that the regional inshore fisheries forums, RIFFs, are directly represented on the new fisheries seaf…

I will give the Minister an example of how out of touch the Government is. He stated that €102.4 billion is being allocated over the five-year period from 2026 to 2030. Zip-a-dee-doo-dah. At the same time, I am being contacted by people in Carrowteige who are being told that they will have to pay €2,359 by Friday or they will not get clean water. How can we be spending billions when we have people in rural Ireland being asked to pay that amount by Friday? We are talking about pensioners who are absolutely distraugh…

I welcome Margaret Loftus to the Public Gallery. The Taoiseach will know she is a courageous and brave former garda, a survivor of horrific domestic violence whose traumatic experience in seeking justice highlights the urgent need for systemic legislative reform in this country. I want to ask the Taoiseach about the nature and substance of his engagements at the G20 summit specifically in relation to gender-based violence and domestic violence. Were these issues discussed at leader or ministerial level? Can the Tao…

This motion is about real people in real crisis right now and a system that is failing them in plain sight. I will begin with the case of a woman from County Mayo who has been in an adult mental health unit since June of last year. She was admitted in acute distress but was otherwise physically well. Today after repeated incidents in what is meant to be a secure unit, she has suffered a choking episode, a broken hip and most recently a broken wrist requiring surgery. Her family now describe her as frail, traumatise…

The legal challenge initiated by Sinn Féin MEPs Lynn Boylan and Kathleen Funchion, and The Left group which includes Luke Ming Flanagan, to refer the Mercosur trade deal to the European Court of Justice was narrowly but thankfully won in the European Parliament yesterday. I commend them, and Deputy Kenny here, on their months and years of hard work. I stand here as a rural TD where farming matters, where food security matters and where environmental protection matters. The thing about rural people is that they say …

They voted.

I thank Deputy Ward for sharing time. I want to talk about the offences under the Domestic Violence Act in this Bill. This is my first chance to talk about a profoundly courageous woman I have the privilege of knowing. Margaret Loftus is a former member of an Garda Síochána who was married to another garda, Trevor Bolger. Trevor Bolger was violent, abusive and isolated Margaret from her family in Mayo. Events came to a head when Trevor Bolger viscously attacked Margaret and threatened to kill her after a family eve…

The fact that vital evidence that was given in the family law courts but was not allowed to be transferred over to be used in the criminal court is, I believe, a miscarriage of justice in its own right. A proper investigation was at last conducted and a file was sent to the DPP. The criminal Circuit Court granted Trevor Bolger full State legal aid throughout the whole court process. There was no means test or evaluation of assets carried out. He was suspended from an Garda Síochána with full pay. The criminal Circu…

I am grateful for the opportunity to raise this issue on behalf of the staff, pupils and the community of St. Brendan's College in Belmullet. I am asking today for urgent interim funding for a nurture room at the school for students with additional and special needs. This funding would allow the school to act now and provide a much-needed facility for the school community rather than having to wait indefinitely for long-promised extension works. I will outline the recent history of the funding allocated to St. Bren…

I appreciate that. I know the Minister of State is genuine when he says he will do that with St. Brendan's College because doing so would send a clear message that while we plan for the future, we do not abandon the students in the present. I look forward to some movement on that issue. This is a very small investment in terms of the interim measure which would have a profound impact on the students who need that space. This is about fairness, urgency and care and about ensuring children who need support are not le…

I thank the Labour Party for bringing this motion forward. We share almost all of what is in this motion. I passionately believe in flexible working hours and the opportunities they can present. This motion goes to the heart of the daily reality for workers of the stress of long commutes, gridlocked roads and unreliable public transport. Workers in Ireland have no right to remote working. They have a right to ask and a right to be refused. I am a pragmatic person and I completely understand that many jobs do not le…

That is really good because it is unusual for Mayo to be first. I wish to talk about the situation with water in County Mayo and, in particular, with group water schemes. Let me be very clear: the people in Mayo are just as important as the people living anywhere else in this State. I know the Minister and the Minister of State will agree with that. They have a right to water, a right to clear running water, and a right to access water 24-7. I want to talk first about homes in areas like Glensaul in Toormakeady, in…

-----and please let me not be standing here again on this issue.

I want to talk about the section of the report on building consensus on a shared island. The Taoiseach will be aware that, last week, there was the launch in Belfast of the public media Ireland report. This is the first time I have seen a report in preparation for the media around this subject. Academics from DCU and Ulster University considered what would happen to the public service media in a reunified Ireland. The report rightly highlights the important role the public sector and broadcasting will have in the r…

It is unfortunate we are here discussing AI at this particular time because it forces us into a space that nobody wants to be in. At the outset, I want to talk about the benefits. If everything in the plan presented by the Minister of State is to be implemented to its fullest in a timely manner, then we will be making progress. As a party, and personally as the spokesperson on enterprise, tourism and employment, we will work with the Minister of State to progress that. It is true it can bring many benefits to busin…

Recent public statements by US President Donald Trump have raised the extraordinary prospect of the United States seeking to forcibly take control of Greenland, a territory of Denmark, an EU member state. Such an action, if pursued, would present a fundamental challenge to international law, the sovereignty of small states and European security. It would also have serious implications for the strategic balance in the north Atlantic region of direct relevance to Ireland’s security, particularly in relation to unders…

I never mentioned Venezuela.

I want to raise the issue of the lack of ambulance services, particularly in north Mayo and the west of Ireland more widely. It is a dire situation that I have never seen as bad in all of my time, where people cannot get an ambulance on time. There are incidents where people have had to travel 50 miles on very bad roads to get to the nearest hospital. When people call an ambulance, they cannot even be told when it is going to come. My question is this. Does the Taoiseach know how many people are dying prematurely b…