Conor D. McGuinness

Cé go bhfuil an dualgas orainn an Ghaeltacht a chosaint agus tá an Ghaeilge rófhada faoi chosaint ar pháipéar agus faoi bhrú sa saol fíor amach ansin, tá gá anois an chéim uaillmhianach chun tosaigh a ghlacadh. Tá an-taithí agam ar na scéimeanna, na tionscadail agus na heagrais ar leith atá ag obair ar an talamh agus atá ag fás an phobail sin agus ag tacú leis an bpobal leis an nGaeilge a bheith m…

101. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht if he is familiar with the farmers' yards initiative; if he sees potential for the initiative as part of wider rural regeneration and rural enterprise development; and if he has engaged with any Government Departments or State agencies regarding its future development. [38389/26]

I ask the Minister of State about the farmers' yard initiative developed - in this country in any case - by Dr. Shane Conway and Dr. Maura Farrell, and piloted successfully in Mountbellew mart. I met recently with Dr. Shane Conway to discuss the model. It uses marts as trusted social spaces for older farmers, combining peer-to-peer support, information sharing, social contact and discussion around…

I would welcome that engagement. The strength of this initiative is that it is not asking anybody to go where they would not ordinarily go or to go outside their comfort zone. It is meeting people where they are at, where they feel comfortable and where they are turning up anyway. It is not just about isolation among older farmers; it is also about connecting younger farmers and giving people who …

I raise the mobile maternity unit fundraised for by Gaeil ar son Gaza in west Waterford. It is now stuck in Egypt, prevented from entering Gaza by the Israeli occupation forces. I understand Irish diplomats in Egypt are seeking a resolution but will the Minister urgently intervene with Egypt, the UN and all relevant agencies to get this Irish-funded and much-needed mobile maternity unit into Gaza?…

As Israel continues to thumb its nose at the international community, bask in its impunity and gloat in the face of the deepening humanitarian crisis it has created-----

-----will the Government finally concede that it is time for us to take unilateral action?

Our so-called European partners are continuing to enable and protect Israel in its colossal crimes against humanity.

Can we sustain the current evictions and homelessness figures?

Sinn Féin will not oppose this legislation progressing to the next Stage. We support the orderly winding down of NAMA and the completion of the IBRC process, but we have serious concerns about accountability, governance and the extraordinary salaries that will be paid, which are utterly out of kilter with public sector norms. Sinn Féin will bring forward amendments on Committee Stage to address th…

This is an extraordinary salary that is part and parcel of the winding up of a State agency.

I will continue with that noted. Last year, the so-called housing tsar plan collapsed under pressure and now the Government wants to fold an individual back into the NTMA while preserving the same extraordinary pay package. Contrast that for a moment with the National Ambulance Service workers who have been forced onto picket lines simply to secure modest improvements in pay and conditions and ad…

Whose job is it to bring legislation?

18. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on the economy, trade and competitiveness will next meet. [32616/26]

The scenes in Tycor in Waterford over the weekend have been devastating for residents, businesses and workers. I commend the firefighters, emergency services and front-line workers who responded. On Sunday morning, my colleague, Deputy David Cullinane, and I visited the area to meet those residents, the workers and the businesses affected. While the immediate danger has passed in many respects, en…

36. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on EU and international affairs will next meet. [32617/26]

Has the Taoiseach spoken to the incoming First Minister of Wales and leader of Plaid Cymru, Rhun ap Iorwerth, or with the current and likely future First Minister of Scotland, John Swinney, following last week’s seismic election results? In the context of the growing constitutional change taking place across these islands, does he intend to meet them alongside the First Minister and deputy First M…

Today, on International Nurses Day, we recognise and thank nurses working across every part of our health service and at every stage of life. We think of those nurses in our hospitals, in GP surgeries and in communities. We think of public health nurses, addiction nurses, mental health nurses, intensive care nurses, palliative care nurses, paediatric nurses, geriatric nurses, and those working in …

10. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach if he will report on his attendance at the annual World Economic Forum meeting in Davos. [30330/26]

It is a number of months since the World Economic Forum in Davos. In the past few weeks, however, the Taoiseach has met the German Chancellor and we have had the German foreign minister here in Dublin. We now know that Germany has once again blocked even the most modest EU action to suspend the EU-Israel trade agreement, which grants preferential access to a rogue state that is systematically viol…

We are here discussing the consultation process, but if we are being honest about it, rural Ireland does not lack for consultation or for strategies and plans. What it actually lacks is delivery, urgency and alignment across Government policy. This is where the Government has failed. The Minister is the one tasked with rural-proofing this Government. He is meant to be the voice at the Cabinet tab…

As we move towards May Day, we recognise the proud tradition of the trade union movement and all those women and men who have served, joined and organised. As working-class people, we know that every time our class, the workers, has made an advance and a gain, it is because they struggled, fought for it and stood up and were counted. I am very proud to come from Waterford, a county and a city imb…

Hear, hear.

As Deputy Carthy set out, Sinn Féin is not opposing this. I recognise the importance of the item before us in terms of targeting serious criminality. However, we have to be very clear that Britain is now a third country and has been since Brexit. It is very important that there are strong measures when it comes to data protection and that the regime that will underpin the sharing of data here is a…

The Government is sleepwalking children, families and schools into a crisis in September. It surely can see what is coming, yet for whatever reason it continues to fail children with additional needs. Across the State, children are still waiting for appropriate school places. In Waterford, I am in touch with so many parents crippled with worry, deeply angry that they are being forced to fight to s…