Conor D. McGuinness

There is €12.5 billion of a surplus.

There is a €12.5 billion surplus.

Sinn Féin will support measures that genuinely speed up the delivery of critical infrastructure, and there is no question that this State needs urgent investment and delivery at scale. This Government has a clear problem with delivery. Communities are repeatedly told that projects are coming, funding is allocated and plans are in place, but what they experience instead are delays, stalled timeline…

Tá mé ag tógáil na ceiste seo thar ceann an Teachta O’Reilly. I am taking this question for Deputy Louise O'Reilly. It is to ask the Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht the way in which he intends to assist rural communities, both households and local civil society organisations, amidst rising oil prices and general trends indicating a rise in energy poverty, and if he w…

On the package of measures announced this week, the general consensus among the public, and certainly on this side of the House, was that it was much too late and far too little. It does not go anywhere near the kind of intervention needed in our society at present, in light of the current crisis and illegal war in the Middle East and the ensuing increase in fuel and energy costs but also in light…

Some 750,000 people are dependent on home heating oil. Many hundreds of thousands of families are already in significant energy arrears with bills. People are going cold and rationing heat and electricity in their own homes because of the wider cost-of-living crisis that existed before the war against Iran. This is the reality the proposals and the measures are not tackling and not facing up to. N…

I am taking this question on behalf of Deputy Carthy.

It is very welcome that this issue is under consideration and forms part of the Minister's engagement with the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment. This issue is impacting rural communities in particular. The lack of tourist accommodation, be it hotel, hostel accommodation or other kinds of accommodation such as glamping pods, is hampering economic development and economic diversifica…

The Minister is right that the attractions are there. The greenways are of really high standard and the greenway in Waterford is a classic example. Unfortunately, the availability of tourist accommodation has not kept pace. On top of that we also see the use of tourist accommodation, and particularly hotels, for the State's responses to the various refugee crisis over the years. The Minister for j…

While Government backbenchers might not wish to acknowledge it, workers and families are being hammered under the watch of this Government. Petrol and diesel prices are rising sharply and the Government response is too late and nowhere near strong enough. Households are already stretched and we see it not just in energy but across the board: food costs and school costs are up. The costs of getting…

I am putting this question on behalf of my colleague Deputy Mac Lochlainn. Five Dutch corporations now control more EU fishing quota than do entire sovereign states, including island nations like ours. They also clearly wield significantly more influence than member states when it comes to quota negotiations. The outcome of the December Council meeting showed that to be true. These five corporatio…

The reality is there is an oligopoly at the heart of European fisheries. If the Government will not name the problem, others will. I am prepared to do so here under parliamentary privilege. I refer to the so-called big five Dutch-based corporations, namely, Parlevliet & van der Plas, Cornelis Vrolijk, Van der Zwan, Alda Seafood and the De Boer family. Between them, they control an extraordinary sh…

The Government must accept that EU fishing policy is being distorted by this reality. It warrants more than just self-congratulations and pointing to the small concession Ireland received from the European Union.

This issue needs an all-of-government approach. It must be investigated and taken very seriously.

At its core, this issue is about sovereignty, fairness and the very survival of our coastal communities. Everybody knows who these corporations are. There are published reports and investigative reports. There is clear evidence of the scale of their control and influence. They wield more control than does a sovereign member state of the EU. Previous Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael Administrations ceded …

It is on the topic of stability and certainty in farm payments. I want to raise the issue of hill farmers on the Knockmealdown Mountains in County Waterford. They are currently in dispute with a landlord over exorbitant rent increases. I know the Minister will not intervene but the Department has effectively taken a side in an ongoing dispute here in holding these farmers over a barrel because no …

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire as a bheith anseo anocht chun an cheist seo a phlé. My colleague, Deputy Cullinane, set out the position in his contribution. He and I met with this group of former Waterford Crystal workers just last week. To be honest, they are worn out by this. They have been at it for years. They have had years of being fobbed off. These are decent, hardworking men. They worked ha…

The Minister stated in his response: "The question regarding the provision of leaving service options is one for the employer and the trustees, rather than the State." The first part of the sentence is true. At the time these workers were made redundant, it was incumbent on the employer and the trustees to provide full information. The State, however, has a role in vindicating rights and ensuring …

What planet are the Ministers on? Is that really the best they can come up with? The devastating impact of post office closures on all communities, rural and urban, is leaving residents without access to essential financial, social and State services. These are important social services that should be provided elsewhere but are only available in the post office and from that network. What we are s…

The Government's hands-off approach is a betrayal of rural Ireland. Post offices are the heartbeat of communities, providing lifelines for older people, small businesses and families. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, backed up by the Healy-Rae and Lowry Independents, have stood by as that network collapses, refusing to implement solutions put forward by the IPU, Sinn Féin and others. It is great to come…

Hear, hear.

The Minister took a portion of time there.

18. Deputy Conor D. McGuinness asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the first meeting of the delivery and monitoring committee for the National Human Rights Strategy for Disabled People 2025-2030, which he chaired on 8 December 2025. [16762/26]

Tá an Ghaelainn fite fuaite lenár n-aitheantas mar náisiún agus mar phobal. Is teanga bhríomhar bheo í le stair ársa agus todhchaí gheal. I mo chlannsa agus i mo phobal, is í an Ghaelainn ár dteanga laethúil, ár dteanga chumarsáide, ár dteanga thuisceana, ár dteanga ghraidhin agus ár dteanga ghrá. Is fíor é seo i ngach cheantar Gaeltachta agus, ar ndóigh, in an-chuid clann ar fud na hÉireann. I mo…

Tearmann agus tobar na nGael: is é sin an cur síos is fearr atá agam ar ár gceantair Ghaeltachta. Is tearmann iad i gcomhar ár dteanga, ár gcultúr dúchais, ach chomh maith leis sin, is tobar as ar féidir le gach uile duine in Éirinn agus gach Gael ar fud an domhain, saibhreas an teanga a fháil agus é a bheith roinnte agus dáilte ina measc. Tá na pobail Ghaeltachta gann ar pháistí chun scoileanna á…