Pádraig Mac Lochlainn

The Minister will know that his predecessor, Deputy Darragh O'Brien, asked the SCSI for the costs of building a typical home in the areas affected by defective concrete blocks. That was two years ago and the costs have increased substantially. That means the gap between what the State will pay families through the grant scheme and the actual costs is getting ever wider. Will the Minister ask the S…

The Minister and his Department officials continue to insist the people of Donegal, Mayo, Sligo, Leitrim, Clare and Limerick are receiving 100% redress based on SCSI costings. It should be remembered that does not include the foundations and other matters. This has to be based on real-world prices. The prices he is working off are at least two years out of date. Indeed, the data used in the March …

Please just accept our testimony. I can only speak with authority about Donegal but I listened to families in Mayo and Clare recently when they were before the Oireachtas housing committee. It is crystal clear we do not have anything near 100% redress in the west. That means the scheme currently benefits those of a certain age who can project-manage or can access €40,000, €50,000 or €100,000. The …

163. Deputy Pádraig Mac Lochlainn asked the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage when he will advance the plans to relocate the families at a location (details supplied), living in defective concrete block homes, away from the dangerous flood plain they were built on. [17184/26]

This issue relates to Elm Park in Buncrana. I thank the Minister for his engagement to date on the issue. He met with the families in Donegal. I thank the Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Deputy Moran, and the Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan. I welcome the announcement before Christmas that the Minister is agreeing to relocate the families. They have been waiting a long time…

The Minister of State, Deputy O'Sullivan, worked with the Minister of State, Deputy Moran, who was in Donegal in recent weeks, where he met with residents and saw the condition of these houses. There is an urgency in that some of the houses are in appalling conditions, are clearly unsafe and families are still living in them. At the same time, they live on a dangerous flood plain. Of course, those…

They are not agreed. When will the Taoiseach stand up for our fishing communities in Europe? He knows we are in an unprecedented crisis. There is a 70% cut in mackerel and 41% in blue whiting, primarily because of actions of countries like Norway which recklessly overfished. In recent days, Norway was granted 50,000 tonnes of blue whiting access in Irish waters and the Irish Government abstained.…

When will the Taoiseach stand up for Irish fishing communities? When will he do his job for our communities?

Last week, I received a letter from 21 school principals across Donegal. I sent it to the Minister and the Minister of State. I ask them to meet with a delegation of these principals. They have asked that the Ministers meet them in the school to see exactly what they are talking about. I ask them to read the letter because it specifically deals with the issues. It is not just about these letters t…

I will get them sent to the Taoiseach.

I will get them to the Taoiseach. He has asked for them now.

I had the chance last December to lay a number of facts on the table. I am going to repeat them. We need to speak out with passion about the rottenness of the Common Fisheries Policy and, I am sorry to say, the rottenness of the approach of the European Commission to all of this. Let us talk about the big five. These are the Dutch corporations that dominate so much quota across the European Union.…

Where the hell is he? How can he not speak out about what is happening? Everybody in the industry across Europe knows of the domination of these corporations and the control they have over policy. Everybody knows that they were able to influence those governments to stop the Hague preferences being invoked by Ireland. That has been our right for decades. It was a protection because of the access w…

Hear hear.

Hear hear.

Colonialists.

I thank the Minister of State for his recent visit to Donegal and for meeting families who are affected face to face. I really appreciated that. We missed the Minister of State when he was out of the Dáil. I will be straight about that. I said it in front of the residents when we were in Donegal. He really cares about this issue. He has experienced it in his own community and seen it at first hand…

A letter from 21 school principals in Donegal has been sent to the Minister for Education and Youth and the Minister of State with responsibility for special needs education. They express their profound concern regarding the reality of special educational needs provision in our schools, in particular the operation of the SNA allocation model. I ask the Taoiseach to request a copy of the letter - I…

A number of years ago, I chaired the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Public Service Oversight and Petitions. At that time, the public service ombudsman and Ombudsman for Children were looking for oversight of the direct provision system. I was the chairperson of the committee and I led the delegations. We travelled to direct provision centres around the country. We met with the asylum seekers. We in…

The HSE has had phase 1 of the Nayagam review relating to children with scoliosis. It is horrific what we know already, and this is of the utmost sensitivity. The Government has committed to a statutory public inquiry. Will it appoint a facilitator to engage with the families in terms of reference? Will we have Dáil statements to give absolute clarity about how this is being handled? There are gro…

I want to state clearly that we absolutely need truth and reconciliation for all of our people who came through the conflict, but one huge missing piece is the role of the British state. I want to take the Minister through the assassination of an elected representative in this State. Councillor Eddie Fullerton was assassinated in May 1991. His family pursued a justice campaign for many years, pati…

As the gap is less than ten votes, and because of the outrageous legislation this is for so many families across this State, we are calling for a vote by other than electronic means.

Under Standing Order 88(3)(b), I propose that the vote be taken by other than electronic means.

The Minister will know the views of Sinn Féin about this legislation, as articulated by our spokesperson, Deputy Carthy. We are particularly concerned that Tusla and the various Departments under the Government's direction do not have the resources to meet the requirements laid out. That is the fundamental concern. However, I will talk practically about my experience in Donegal in recent years and…

They are not agreed. Why does the Taoiseach continue to bury his head in the sand? Farmers are in an ongoing sit-down protest in the offices of Bord Bia. How on earth can the Taoiseach stand over a Bord Bia chairperson remaining in place when every single farming organisation, representing the primary producers of food in this country, says he has to go? They have no confidence in him because he b…