George Lawlor

On 9 January, the Taoiseach, Deputy Martin, declared that Ireland could not support a deal where imported beef came from production systems that were not as carbon efficient and did not have the same stringent standards as Irish agriculture. He declared this as if this news had fallen from the sky. It was known for years, yet the Government failed miserably to garner support to ensure that suffici…

109. Deputy George Lawlor asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment in light of the recently calculated €1 billion fall in tourism revenue year-on-year, the factors his Department has identified as driving this decline; the immediate actions he intends to take to stabilise the sector and prevent further losses; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1338/26]

What factors have been identified by the Department as driving the year-on-year decline of €1 billion in tourism revenue, as recently calculated? What immediate actions does the Minister intend to take to stabilise the sector and prevent further losses?

I thank the Minister for his response. Someone’s figures are not adding up. There has been a clash – I think the CSO was saying one figure and the industry was saying another. The indications are that foreign spending slumped by almost €1 billion and total international visitors are down year on year by some 13%. As one can imagine in an industry worth €8.9 billion to the economy with, I think, ar…

I welcome some of the initiatives the Minister has announced. There are markets we can work on. I gave the example of Savannah in Georgia before. A number of Ministers have visited Savannah as part of the St. Patrick’s Day connections. Savannah has huge Irish connections. The city has a population of 170,000. Last year, it had 17 million visitors. If one considers that Australia had about 10 milli…

Today, around 270 workers at Caredoc, the GP out-of-hours service in Wexford - I think it covers part of the Tánaiste's own constituency or-----

-----county - have gone on strike. The INMO and SIPTU have said they are seeking implementation of a 2023 Workplace Relations Commission pay agreement that was agreed for section 39 organisations. They are specifically seeking the 8% increase that is due to their members working in Caredoc. This is the first of a number of planned strikes that will have a significant impact on GP's out-of-hours se…

Again last night there was traffic chaos across Dublin after the M50 was closed due to a fire near the bridge. This rippled across the city and the counties surrounding Dublin. For those relying on public transport, there is more and more evidence of a system falling apart or not functioning: ghost buses, cancelled trains, and a Luas that shuts down due to a storm. Commuters are tearing their hair…

I am glad to hear the Taoiseach's commitment to public transport. However, in the strategic rail review, the Rosslare to Waterford rail line has been abandoned yet again. There is no investment in the Rosslare Europort to Dublin line, despite the massive investment that is going to happen in Rosslare Europort. Despite the talk, there are known road safety blackspots in every constituency. In my co…

Having listened to the stories of Deputies Gould, Donnelly and Ward and their dogs I am reminded of the phrase, if you want a friend in politics, get a dog. Ireland is in the midst of a dog welfare crisis. That is not a phrase that I use lightly. Today, more than 3,000 dogs are in pounds and rescue centres across the country. Every week we hear of rescue centres overwhelmed, a foster network stret…

Not agreed.

We need an urgent debate on the crisis in emergency departments across the country. Last week 14 ambulances were stacked up outside Wexford General Hospital, with no access to the emergency department because it was already packed. Some 14 ambulances taken out of service, some for up to seven hours. We are facing an urgent crisis in the emergency department. Wexford needs a demountable unit to avo…

The issue we come to the Chamber to speak about today cuts to the very heart of dignity, equality and compassion. For too long, trans people in this county have been denied timely, respectful and affirming care. The word "respectful" has been used in this Chamber. When a Member of this House comments in this Chamber in an odious way against another Member, it is something we must call out and not …

I want to raise the issue of pension abatement. Quite a number of retired public servants who were encouraged back into the service following their retirement are now in receipt of rather large pension abatement bills, so to speak. Retired public servants who had already earned their pensions were basically told that if they worked a certain number of hours, cumulative over the full year, they wou…

I thank Deputy Nash. I spoke very briefly to the Tánaiste during the week on this. We had a good meeting with the Minister, Peter Burke, on the whole area of employee ownership trusts. My next step was to meet the Minister’s predecessor, but unfortunately he has gone to pastures new.

Yes, Paschal's new pastures. Certainly, this is a win-win scenario. Looking at the statistics, every working day this year, an Irish company has been sold into foreign ownership. If you contrast that with the UK’s situation, ten companies per week transfer to employee ownership trusts. The very simple reason they do that is because the taxation situation is much more favourable in that regard. Th…

I welcome all the people in the Public Gallery and thank them for all they have done in campaigning for victims of sexual violence and change. I am pleased to speak in strong support of this Bill and thank Sinn Féin for bringing it forward to the floor of the House. My colleagues in the Labour Party will also be supporting it. This legislation is not just a legal reform; it is a lifeline for surv…

This is a moral test for us. In many respects, it echoes our own history. The occupied territories Bill has sat idle for about eight years now and in that time the situation in Palestine has spiralled into catastrophe. Over 67,000 lives have been lost in Gaza in recent years, with hundreds of thousands of illegal settlers entrenched in the West Bank. It is not a distant tragedy or anything like it…

The EU-Mercosur trade agreement is not just another obscure policy; it is a crossroads. On the one hand, there is an opportunity for some sectors. On the other hand, there is the potential for real and lasting harm to the communities that have sustained this country for generations. We simply must tread carefully because the stakes could not be higher for counties such as my own, Wexford. This agr…

We have to ask this question: how can we preach sustainability at home while rewarding destruction abroad? The safeguards are flimsy. Promises of review mechanisms and compensation funds sound reassuring but they often arrive too late after farms have become unsustainable and families, trying to survive and diversify, have left the land. Farmers fear, rightly so, that by the time Brussels acts, th…

Hear, hear.

Danny, sit down.

Sit down.

Good night.

Having regard to the firm commitments made to establish a new constituent campus in Wexford town for the Southeast Technological University, when does the Minister expect specific capital funding to be allocated and announced for this project? When will the masterplan for the site be published? When does he expect SETU to have access to the new site and construction work on the new campus to begin…