Paul Lawless

Britain's digital ID card - the so-called "Brit-card" - may be a domestic policy, but the consequences will not respect borders. By making the ID digital card mandatory for work, housing and basic services, Britain risks displacing thousands of people from the grey economy. If we consider for a moment where these people will go, are they likely to return home or to come to Ireland via the North? W…

What analysis has been done in terms of immigration and the number of asylum seekers in relation to the Brit-card and will the Government establish an Irish Sea border for people?

It is good to be able to speak on the sports capital today. It has been a tremendous scheme for many rural communities across Mayo and the country. I recently attended the opening of my own club, Aghamore, which received sports capital to develop a gym and dressing rooms, etc. Parke Keelogues Crimlin recently opened a floodlit pitch and a walkway around its facilities. It will be hugely valuable f…

The cost of insurance is crippling to so many young people. This Government has already priced young people out of the housing market, and out of the opportunity to have their own home. Now the Government is pricing them off the road. The Government is taking away their independence. That is what is happening. Over recent years, premiums have risen on average by almost 10%. The major issues are th…

101. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Transport the steps his Department is taking to improve regional and rural transport connectivity in the west of Ireland, with particular reference to rail and bus links serving County Mayo; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51780/25]

Will the Minister outline the steps he and the Department are taking to improve regional connectivity, particularly rail and bus services in Mayo?

Will the Minister of State please focus on regional rail? The Dublin to Westport line has had no significant upgrades in quite some time. From Westport to Athlone, we are still operating off a single-carriage line. The distance from Westport to Dublin is 262 km. The journey takes three hours and 20 minutes, which means that the average speed is 80 km/h. There are tractors in Mayo that can reach 80…

The distance between Cork and Dublin is the same. Trains on that route reach Dublin in two and a half hours. The TGV in France has an average speed of 300 km/h. With such average speeds, it would be possible to get from Westport to Dublin in under an hour. In many cases, the people of Mayo are waiting in Roscommon for half an hour for a train to pass because of the single line and because the spee…

Does the Minister of State have any plans to upgrade the Dublin to Westport line-----

-----particularly with regard to the speed of the trains?

The big point is that in recent years the housing crisis has pushed a lot of people from Mayo out of Dublin. Covid and working conditions also played a role. We have seen many young people returning to live in Mayo and commuting to Dublin, if you can believe it. Many of these people travel to Dublin one, two or three days a week. The point I am making is that a journey of almost three and half hou…

I am glad the Minister of State mentioned ten years ago.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on social enterprises. I welcome the Minister of State's opening statement. It is important that we support social enterprises. I will highlight some of the great work in my constituency to emphasise the valuable work happening across Mayo. One example is the Kilmovee community housing centre. It is a small community but the social enterprise there is doing treme…

I welcome transition year students from Ballyhaunis Community School in County Mayo, and their teachers, Bernie Osgood and Mairead Conway. It is great to have them here with us. I thank them for making the journey. I have no doubt some of the next politicians and leaders of the country are here today. I very much welcome the motion before us, brought forward by the Labour Party. I also welcome th…

I welcome the auto-enrolment scheme. It will be very positive for a lot of workers across the country. I question the delays in relation to it. It is such an important aspect for particularly middle- and low-income earners and I urge the Government to prioritise its roll-out. However, I have some concerns. These concerns relate to compliance and to SMEs. SMEs are already struggling with the cost o…

86. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment the proportion of plastics collected under the deposit return scheme that are processed overseas; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49283/25]

My question is about the deposit return scheme, DRS. What percentage of plastics and cans that are collected via the scheme are processed here and what percentage are processed abroad?

It is very important that this was sold as an environmental measure. It is clear that a significant volume of material is leaving the country. Does the Minister of State have an assessment of the emissions in that regard? What work is he undertaking to ensure we have the capacity and facilities available in this country?

I agree that such a plant should be established but the introduction of the plant should have happened in advance of the scheme. There is a great deal of inconvenience involved. A significant amount of money is going to a private company, which gives rise to a number of questions that I hope we will soon address. It is very important that a bottle-to-bottle recycling plant be set up. Does the Mini…

90. Deputy Paul Lawless asked the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment his views on whether the deposit return scheme has been a success to date; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [49284/25]

Has the DRS been a success? I am not just asking about the environmental aspect but about the financials behind company, the percentage of unclaimed deposits and where that money has gone and the impact will the scheme have on families right across Ireland who may well experience higher bin collection fees as a result of the DRS.

The deposit return scheme has become another tax but it is not like a normal tax that might be used to pay teachers, nurses and gardaí. This is a tax that is going into a private organisation. Last year, at the end of 2024 the company had more than 100 million deposits from unclaimed bottles and cans. Last year, the company had a cash pile of €90 million after expenses. The CEO's salary is not dec…

It is over €66 million of unclaimed items in one year. The Minister of State has talked about controls. I have asked him how much the CEO is getting paid and what the salaries in this organisation are. That is the level of control I expect him to declare before us in the Dáil. It is unacceptable that he talks simply about the environmental aspect without addressing the issue the people of Ireland …

The salaries?

I wish to raise real concerns about Mayo University Hospital. The Minister for Health will know that last month the hospital was in a crisis situation, experiencing over 160 presentations daily despite the fact that just four or five nurses were rostered on a given day. This month we are way off peak in terms of the winter period but Mayo University Hospital has been forced to cancel elective proc…