Richard O'Donoghue

In the case of Jessica Sheedy and the then CEO of UHL, will the Department of justice do an investigation into somebody who withheld evidence, misled an independent inquiry by not providing the relevant information at the time, and put people's lives at risk through the delay in providing the information? This independent inquiry has been done twice. It has gone to the UK twice. The final informat…

The bottom line is that the Government should never have taken this off the local authorities. Uisce Éireann should never have been set up. We would have accountability then because, first, the councils could keep a good eye on what needs to be done with infrastructure and within the areas. The Deputies of this House could also keep in line with that and let the Government know where the money was…

Independent Ireland had asked the Government that there would be no means test for carers. It said that there should no means test for carers for one very good reason: how can you put a price on care? People are coming into people's homes for an hour. They are driving ten miles, driving to different parts of the county and giving an hour to a family member. The statistics show that with the way th…

I am a reformed smoker - I have not smoked a cigarette in 30 years. Then came in the smoking ban, which was targeted at adults. I do not agree with these one-off vapes but if one is an adult, one should have the common sense to know whether to use a vape. Personally, I would nearly prefer to see somebody smoke a cigarette than what is inside those vapes because their contents are unknown, as are t…

Independent Ireland held a protest in Athlone where 27,000 people turned out from all across different areas around this country. Sinn Féin came. Even the Green Party came. It was not just about the farmers. They all came to support an Independent Ireland protest that was organised by Ciaran Mullooly, MEP, Deputy Michael Fitzmaurice and the Independent Ireland team. They came and supported it. I d…

I watched everyone standing up here with notebooks in front of them when speaking. What they were saying was rhetorical stuff. It was the same stuff coming out of their mouths. There is no urban and rural divide here. I have people from an urban area who come out hunting in our area and they have done it for decades. I am from a farming background. I live in an area where there is cover behind me.…

They did not even know what a greyhound was. The same thing is happening here today. They do not understand the process that is happening here. They did not follow the science. They are talking about a minority of people, saying 2%. What percent of us look after us in terms of the Garda? If we look at a percentage, how many people in this country are medical people? They look after a population of…

I have none.

I welcome any changes to amend planning legislation. Something I would like the Minister to look at in the new year is listed buildings and building over listed buildings. In Limerick, we have a lot of listed buildings and many buildings which are stopping young people from living over them. I have no problem with the fire regulations but the problem is that conservation rules mean the inside of t…

Every time I come in here, I look across the benches and see where we cannot get delivery. I then look at communities where any time something is wanted or somebody is in trouble, people ask what they can do to help, even if they have not got it themselves. Yesterday, I was in Limerick. It is a tradition in Limerick that Fossett's Circus comes there. Fossett's Circus does a charity night, every ti…

Blister packs are essential for people who live with dementia. They are an essential part of the lives of people on medication who live at home. It is even essential for first aid responders who come to houses looking for people, as they know what they have taken. The main point in the debate is that the blister packs are for the same people who have blisters on their hands from working all their…

I am sorry. I have another half a minute.

Fair play to the Leas-Cheann Comhairle. It is a Limerick thing. These are the same people that are looking at a children's hospital that has gone €1.2 billion over budget, yet the Government cannot look after the vulnerable in regard to blister packs.

We have a large majority of dog breeders who do their work well and do it right. They are legislated for and they have regular visits from vets and regular welfare visits and they do everything correctly. We have a minority who are not doing it right. Any minority that is not doing it right deserves the heavy hand of the law. The Bill needs to be right once and for all but the biggest issue with i…

While we are talking, our phones are listening. In the next five minutes, whatever we have spoken about will pop up on our phones. We not only have to deal with children; we also have to deal with adults. What happens online is getting into all of our thoughts. If we look up anything, we will be sent four or five things based on that. If what happens online does that to adults, what is it doing to…

I have been in construction all my life and the manner in which the Bill is laid out is not practical. The Government has made proposals in respect of sectors A, B and C. There is reference to repairing a wall, moving onto the next one and so on. That is specialised work. Specialised work is more expensive. Reference has been made to foundations. The criteria for foundations have completely change…

I will follow on from Deputies Ward and Ó Broin as regards where the regulation is based on block. As I said earlier, I have been a building contractor all my life. The same grit goes into block as goes into lintels, only it is a different sized chip. Lintels were 8 in. by 4 in., but now they are a regulated 8 in. by 8 in. even though it is the same material. It is just certified differently. It j…

I listened to the Minister speak on the amendments. He referred to the Building Control Acts 1990 to 2025. What the Minister is saying is that for a house built in the 1990s, a section can be put on that house connecting the 1990 blockwork to the 2025 blockwork. Who is going to certify it? I deal with engineers daily. For certification of anything that I need, I would have to get all the different…

As other speakers said, this has not been costed since 2022. I will give the Minister a small few facts and it will not cost the State anything. I know the funds myself on a year-to-year basis for building costs. In 2021, the average cost of building a 2,000 sq. ft house was €120 per sq. ft on a greenfield site with a builder's finish. It cost €240,000 in 2021 with VAT of €32,400 on top that. In 2…

Everyone one of the speakers is talking correctly. They have the experience. I have taken out the front of buildings with 300 or 400 tonnes of stone propped over the buildings. For a semi-detached house - it depends on the era it was built in - there could a 6 in. or 9 in. block wall in the middle separating them or there could be a stud wall built up between them with fire-lined boards on both si…

In the scheme of things, when you look at projections of what this will cost, it will be 43 houses and roughly €22,000 per house. Given the different-sized houses, it is an average of €22,000 per house. Going by the 29 March deadline, there is a price increase which is between €16 and €20 per square foot, with the inflationary costs that have been caused by different things, including budgetary ch…

We are asked to vote to amend the Arbitration Act to ratify the investors court part of CETA. I am asking the TDs to stand with the people and with the Dáil's ability to make laws for Ireland and to vote against amending the Arbitration Act. We already have Irish and EU laws that protect companies and investors, and if these laws are good enough for the rest of us, including Irish businesses, it s…

Assessment of need. I will just read it out. Assessment of need. Cara, who is 15 years of age, can see that there has to be an assessment of need. A 15-year-old girl has been outspoken, supported by her family to support her family. She will be sleeping outside for 50 hours to highlight something that is not there, which we in here should be ashamed of. That is what it comes to. I will read out …

I will start with my disappointment that people on that side of the House would turn around and say that people on this side of the House are far right or far left. I am a father. I have been heckled-----

Excuse me. I did not interrupt you, so have the courtesy to shut your mouth and listen to somebody.