Robert O'Donoghue

Yes.

We do know this is a problem. It is acknowledged. We have the statistics going back many years. As an aside, I wonder how much loneliness has to do with people still farming into their 70s, 80s and 90s, like Mr. O'Connor was? We know there are certain schemes out there but if a targeted wage subsidy could be considered as part of the Department's work, that would be fantastic. I welcome the fundin…

I want to raise a pressing issue that is affecting my constituency of Dublin Fingal West, particularly Balbriggan but also Rush, Lusk, Skerries and more rural areas. There is ongoing pressure on Drogheda and Beaumont hospitals that could be alleviated to some degree by the establishment of a minor injuries clinic hub in Balbriggan. There are now approximately 30,000 people living in Balbriggan . …

While I welcome the Minister of State's comments on the need to move appropriate services out of acute hospitals into smaller community-based hubs, and the policy direction is absolutely correct, Balbriggan is the type of location where this should be applied in practice. A community-based hub at Balbriggan would work extremely well under the pull-out model, especially for services that do not nee…

The situation regarding waiting times for speech and language therapy in CHO 9, particularly for children in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West, has gone from beyond delay and is entering the territory of systemic neglect. Children in CHO 9 are waiting not months but years for basic speech and language assessments and then face further delays before therapy begins. These children are at the mos…

I appreciate the measures being undertaken. This is not an issue to play politics with. To achieve a timeframe of ten months will be a huge bonus in CHO 9, given where we are now. I have raised this issue previously, although not with the Minister of State. I feel compelled to raise it again, and I have permission from the parents to do so. A child in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West, Willow…

This motion comes at a critical time for workers in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West where transport pressures are at breaking point. My office receives emails on a daily basis from constituents who simply cannot get to work on time because buses and trains at peak hours are completely full. Workers are being left behind at stops through no fault of their own. I want to share the stories of s…

131. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport if he accepts that safeguarding in sport must extend beyond child protection to include clear and enforceable adult safeguarding standards; the steps taken by his Department and Sport Ireland to ensure consistent adult safeguarding policies across all sports organisations; and if he will introduce a requirement …

Safeguarding in sport must be extended beyond child protection to include clear and enforceable adult safeguarding standards.

Given the increasing and well-evidenced recognition of abuse, coercive control and harassment experienced by adults across sporting environments, not only within elite levels of sports but within community clubs and local clubs, does the Minister of State accept that the continued absence of a mandatory adult safeguarding policy constitutes a serious gap in governance, accountability and participa…

The absence of robust safeguarding policies in many sports often comes to light by chance. However, even minimal scrutiny reveals that safeguarding is frequently treated as an afterthought for adults. It is only considered once something goes seriously wrong. When these situations arise, clubs are often ill prepared to respond appropriately. Responsibility is often placed on ordinary volunteers an…

Dereliction makes our towns look worse, damages local pride, drives footfall away from businesses and sends the message that neglect is tolerated. At a time of such acute public infrastructure needs, this is simply unacceptable. This Bill does not create a new tax. It asks only that the existing law be taken seriously and enforced properly. In my constituency of Dublin-Fingal West they deserve be…

At the outset, this debate is not about opposing free trade, nor is it about pretending that Europe can insulate itself from a volatile global economy. In an era with political instability and the imposition of US tariffs on the European Union, international trade agreements matter. They are important and can be beneficial, but importance alone is not enough. When we examine the Mercosur deal, we…

99. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine his plans to introduce a dedicated support scheme to address the significant and ongoing losses experienced by the forestry sector as a result of recent storms; the expected timeline for the development and implementation of such a scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [66951/25]

Today, the Labour Party is calling for the urgent adoption of a comprehensive public health approach to the decriminalisation of possession of drugs for personal use and the development of safer consumption spaces. I thank my party colleague, Aodhán Ó Ríordáin, for his work over the past number of years. I thank the Minister of State for not opposing this motion. The purpose of this motion is clea…

I welcome the announcement by the Minister of State, Deputy Dooley, of €27.75 million for capital projects at Ireland’s publicly owned harbours under the 2025 fishery harbour centres and coastal infrastructure development programme. While welcome news for our coastal communities, the way this funding is being divided is far from equitable. To touch on a point just mentioned by Deputy McGuinness, l…

Will the Minister outline the details of the new RAPID programme announced in budget 2026? Communities have been eager to see renewed investment in their areas and clarity about how the programme will operate is really important. Will he outline the main features of the new scheme and indicate when he expects it to become fully operational?

The Minister outlined quite succinctly that the RAPID programme has been really important over the years in tackling disadvantage and dereliction and breathing life into new towns. The previous scheme made a real difference in places like Athy, where that targeted investment helped communities deal with deprivation and improve local facilities. As the Minister moves forward with the new RAPID prog…

I am taking this question on behalf of my party colleague Deputy Mark Wall so I might as well use the opportunity to give my constituency a plug in the hope we can secure funding for local projects that make a difference. My hope is that the new RAPID scheme will be a funding model that will also allow smaller grassroots projects for local groups, volunteers and small-scale interventions to take p…

I want to raise the case of a child in my constituency, Dublin Fingal West. She will be nine next month. I have permission from her parents to use her name, which is Willow. She was waiting for two years for an assessment for speech and language therapy. Thankfully, she has got the assessment and it has been confirmed that she needs speech and language therapy now. However, her parents have been t…

I wish to address the ongoing issue of communication, or more accurately the lack thereof, from Bus Éireann with public representatives. Numerous emails from my office and from colleagues I have talked to have gone unanswered. In other cases, I was even asked to provide written consent from constituents confirming I had their permission to contact Bus Éireann on their behalf. I did exactly that, y…

We are all aware that it is there because we all use it. However, what parents and public representatives need are results. We need a good communication channel and we need Bus Éireann to start replying to those emails. We need accountability in a system that works. It is simply not acceptable that elected representatives, who are trying to resolve issues for their constituents, are left for weeks…

I speak today on behalf of the constituents of Dublin Fingal West, dealing with the stress caused by their houses literally crumbling around them. Families did everything right. They saved, they waited for their homes to be built, took pride in their home and now they live in fear, with cracks going up the walls, through the floors and the ceilings yet the response from the Department is painfully…

The budget that was announced two weeks ago has revealed what this Government really thinks about Irish agriculture. Despite the pre-election promises, farming received barely a minute's mention across the two ministerial budget day speeches on 7 October. Within that silence, the story of the Irish tillage sector stands out as truly symbolic, a measure of neglect and a reflection of how disconnect…

89. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine if he will commit to developing and implementing a comprehensive resilience and recovery plan now to ensure that rural and agricultural communities are protected when the next major storm occurs (details supplied). [55112/25]