Ged Nash

Brexit.

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this important Bill. I will be sharing time with my colleagues Deputies Conor Sheehan and George Lawlor. It is a short Bill at just ten pages and comprising ten section, but it is of real and critical significance to our economy and our society. The infrastructure deficit in our country is perhaps the biggest single economic challenge we have. As the Minister …

Policing by consent is a hallmark of how An Garda Síochána has operated in this State. That model is breaking down as visibility of gardaí on the ground thins out, resulting in a dangerous chasm between gardaí and the communities they are pledged to protect. On-the-ground policing builds trust and relationships and safer communities. Every Member of this House will testify that the number of cases…

They are on minimum wage.

I want to put on record my serious concerns about the way in which business has been conducted today. At the end of the Order of Business and the Chief Whip's short contribution earlier today, she mentioned that there may be other resolutions this evening. We were in the dark about this. We want to be a constructive and responsible Opposition. There are people watching in who are concerned about t…

That is not the point.

It has been trailed through the media for days that hauliers are going to get a rebate. That is fine. We will consider that. It does not mean anybody opposes it. Everybody accepts that hauliers require support. That is not the point. The Government knew earlier today that this was going to happen. It could have provided the Opposition with the information in a constructive fashion, and we could ha…

The people of Ireland have waited for an intervention from the Government to deal with this energy spike for weeks now. To say that today's intervention - this package of measures - is underwhelming is an understatement. In fact, it is a classic understatement. I said earlier today that these proposals are timid and anaemic. I stand over that. The evidence that is presented to us here this evening…

I thank the Minister for her personal interest since her appointment in working with Dignity4Patients and the victims and survivors of disgraced paedophile and former doctor Michael Shine. It is to be recognised and noted that we are at a point now that we were not at a few months ago. The first contribution I made in this Chamber on my election 15 years ago was in relation to the actions of Mich…

The announcement rushed out on Monday night was designed to do two things: quell the Dáil on Tuesday and silence SNAs and families on Wednesday. It has not succeeded. SNAs are not stupid. As Deputy Bacik said yesterday during Leaders' Questions, they know a pause is not a plan. The Taoiseach's performance yesterday during Leaders' Questions was incredible. It showed signs of a Government in absol…

It was shameful for and unbecoming of someone who delights in telling us he is a former education Minister. It would serve him and the rest of the Government better, and would restore some trust in politics, if he, the Minister and the Minister of State just admitted that they all got this horribly wrong. Instead, they apologised for how things were communicated. It was absolutely shambolic. They …

I certainly will not attempt to run through the names of local estates and roads the way in which my good friend and colleague Deputy Ó Murchú did in the context of County Louth. I thought that when he was eating in to that additional time, he was going to mention my own street in Drogheda but -----

-----he had the good grace not to and I have the good sense to live on the top of a hill, knowing that there are certain areas that are vulnerable to flooding and flood damage. The experience and topography in our respective towns is quite different. We are in a new era and a new normal, dare I say it, when it comes to flood events. Over the last few years and certainly before 2020, we got used t…

We are debating this Bill this morning because the previous Government's so-called Work Life Balance and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, which is less than three years old, has abjectly failed working people. Then again, we should not be surprised because it was set up to fail. We said that at the time and the proof is there for all to see in the operation of the terms of the Act in the WRC's annual…

Hear, hear.

2. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation to outline the accountability measures in the accelerating infrastructure action plan; the way he intends to implement and enforce them; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11340/26]

The accelerating infrastructure task force action plan was published towards the end of last year. Key to that plan is the accountability measures referenced in it and how they are implemented. The Minister, Deputy Chambers, might take the opportunity to put on the record of the House the details around accountability measures in that plan and how he intends to enforce and implement them.

The Minister will be aware that we in the Labour Party gave the action plan a fair wind. We did so because of the absolute dire situation this country faces in terms of infrastructure development, most notably in housing. The kind of economic development we all want to see simply will not happen if we do not address the key concerns we all have around housing provision, renewable energy, transport…

We will be watching this very closely. The reason we gave the report a fair wind was because of the dire situation with infrastructure in the country. According to the IMF and others, our infrastructure is about one third behind comparable countries. Accountability is key because that has been one of the significant missing pieces. The problem is that if it is everyone's responsibility, it is nobo…

I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill. Several of my colleagues have spoken on it over the last week or so. It is not an understatement to say migration, emigration and the policy that supports the area are complex issues. There is no doubt about that, but the policy we develop in here that finds its way into the legislation on our Statute Book cannot be done by simply appeasing the view…

157. Deputy Ged Nash asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Finance to confirm the date on which the expanded living cities initiative will be formally introduced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10467/26]

I raise with the Tánaiste the extension of the living cities initiative to five regional towns, including two in my constituency, Drogheda and Dundalk. When he has the opportunity he might state exactly when the initiative will go live for the new areas provided for under the Finance Act.

I thank the Tánaiste. We can all agree that vacancy and dereliction are a scourge in communities up and down the country. There is a particularly pronounced problem in my hometown of Drogheda. The Tánaiste will be aware of the extent of the problem in the historic core town centre of what is a very historic town, with some very significant buildings from an architectural and heritage point of view…

It is one weapon in our armoury. There is no doubt about that but we need to take a varied approach to this. Another initiative, which was announced in the budget last year, was the transitioning of the derelict sites levy to a derelict sites tax. By definition, the responsibility for the collection of that tax will be given to the Revenue Commissioners. I have been campaigning for that for years;…

I thank my colleague Deputy Ahern for providing me with some time to address a matter the Minister of State knows is very close to my heart and the hearts of the people of Drogheda. I have a very straightforward question for him. Where is Drogheda's new permanent driving test centre? He and I have engaged on this on a number of occasions in recent weeks. I appreciated the helpful updates he provid…