Robert O'Donoghue

It is good to hear support for the plan, especially in respect of public transport, which is a particular difficulty outside Dublin when people try to get in and out to venues in cities. I attended the launch of the report from the Give Us The Night campaign yesterday. Its members have been campaigning for reform of the Irish nightclub industry for more than 20 years. Parts of that industry are s…

I thank the Minister. We can work on this issue on a cross-party basis. I thank him for his contribution and look forward to the publication of the report.

I wish to highlight a matter of real and growing concern in the southern part of my constituency. There has been a recent surge in antisocial behaviour in the Northwood area of Santry, particularly around Gulliver's Retail Park. Families, residents and business owners feel increasingly unsafe due to targeted and aggressive incidents, including reports of cans and stones being thrown at passersby, …

I thank the Minister of State. This issue can be looked at on a cross-party basis. There is no division here between the Opposition and the Government. I welcome the information to the effect that the LCSPs are to be set up shortly. When I was a councillor, I served on a joint policing committee. I found that very useful because you get to know all the stakeholders on the pitch, for want of a bett…

I thank Deputy O'Gorman for bringing forward this motion, which is supported by the Labour Party. I will take the opportunity to talk about my constituency of Dublin Fingal West where public transport is at best disconnected. I acknowledge that the DART+ Coastal North project will, hopefully, come at the end of 2026. In the meantime, our issue is with the bus service. There are variations in the 3…

I am thankful for the opportunity to speak on this issue that is vital not only for our coastal communities but to our national identity. I refer to the future of fishing in Ireland. Once the backbone of coastal communities, the fishing industry is now facing shrinking incomes, rising costs and dwindling fish stocks. At the same time, our oceans are coming under increasing pressure from overfishin…

Roads, schools, hospitals, and homes: none of these exists in Gaza anymore. What was once a densely populated strip, already suffering from decades of siege and blockade, has now become a graveyard of rubble, broken lives and broken dreams. Entire families have been erased and communities have been turned to dust, yet the world continues to watch on. We have entered an era where genocide is not ju…

I have been going back and forth on this with Uisce Éireann since I was a councillor. I appreciate that it checked the system for an update prior to this coming to the floor, but there is still no update available for the residents, and the residents have now moved it on to the CRU also. For background, there are six homes in Ellen’s Court in Rush. Arthur Brett was the first to move in on 19 Sept…

We can all agree it is more than a bit of a mess. I appreciate the Minister of State’s intervention and him speaking to Uisce Éireann to try to get this sorted out. I welcome that Uisce Éireann will engage with the residents, and I am quite happy to follow up with them. I thank the Minister of State for his response.

110. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Ireland's position on the emerging proposals from the European Commission to allow payments for compliance with good agricultural and environmental condition, GAEC, 2, requirements under the CAP simplification package; if he will advocate for strong support measures for Irish farmers managing peatlands and wetlan…

Will the Minister outline Ireland's stance on the European Commission's new proposals to allow the payment for farmers who meet GAEC 2 requirements under the CAP simplification package? Will he push for strong support measures for Irish farmers who are managing peatlands and wetlands, given the challenges that they face?

One of the core issues is how land is being mapped. Farmers are reporting that productive land is being wrongly classified as peatland with very little consultation or clarity coming towards them. Once land is labelled under GAEC 2, strict restrictions apply. There can be no drainage, no receding and limited grazing, which can have a major impact on farm income, especially in the midlands and the …

I thank the Minister.

I welcome the IFA president, Mr. Gorman, to the House. The Labour Party's mission, echoing the Tom Johnson minority report from the 1924 Agricultural Commission, is to achieve greater food security by ensuring that everybody has access to healthy, nutritious and sustainable food at an affordable price while also safeguarding our natural environment. Labour is committed to supporting farmers in div…

92. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will consider establishing a night-time economy commission or advisory group in each major city to provide expert guidance and recommendations, informed by local research and consumer feedback. [22933/25]

Will the Minister consider establishing a night-time economy commission or advisory group in each major city to provide expert guidance and recommendations informed by local research and consumer feedback, to support those operating in the creative arts and culture space, and to offer more people to enjoy the night time and help cultural institutions to extend their opening hours into the evening?

I welcome the Minister's actions and look forward to the review. I urge him to consider establishing the night-time economy commission or advisory group in each of the major cities. Our cultural life does not end at 5 p.m. as he knows, and neither should our planning. By grounding these commissions in local research and consumer feedback we ensure that we reflect on the unique needs and opportunit…

105. Deputy Robert O'Donoghue asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media if he will consider more funding so that all local communities can have access to modern, fit-for-purpose sporting facilities. [22771/25]

I am sharing time with Deputy Duncan Smith. Europe Day is one of the forgotten holidays. Many people do not know what or why it is, or even that it is being celebrated on 9 May. There is some idea that there is a vague connection with the Ode to Joy all right, but that is where the interest stops. I was lucky that at my old school the German teacher, Anita Irwin, makes a point of celebrating and …

I hear every day from women in my constituency in particular that they cannot find childcare. I hear mostly from women about being forced to give up their careers, to defer returning to education and to delay starting and expanding their families. We have moved from the marriage bar of the past to what can only be described as a modern-day family bar where the costs and unavailability of childcare…

It was 30 years ago that the Labour Party, while in government and supported by the Dublin Council of Trade Unions and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, made May Day a bank holiday, but its roots go much deeper than that. The Labour Party has always stood by the trade union movement. The connection is not symbolic - it is practical, principled and rooted in the shared belief deserve power, voice and…

Good morning, Minister of State. It has always been the Labour Party's vision to invest in public transport, to continue to progressively reduce the cost of public transport and to focus on increasing the reliability of our train services. In general, it is great to see the fare reductions and the expansion of the commuter zones that have come in this week. This is a positive step forward in makin…

I thank the Minister of State for his response. This is a good scheme but there are idiosyncrasies in it that need to be ironed out so the constituents of Dublin Fingal West will be encouraged to use public transport. I understand that distance travelled is one of the criteria in establishing zones, but it seems incredibly unfair that the fares of students travelling two stops from Rush-Lusk over …

I welcome the parents and activists in the Gallery and thank my colleague, Deputy Eoghan Kenny, for bringing this important motion forward. In my constituency, Fingal West, I regularly hear, like all Members do, from families deeply concerned about the severe shortage of appropriate education placements and supports for children with special needs. Accessing school settings remains a major challen…

Yesterday was World Autism Awareness Day. It cannot just have been another day of empty promises while families continue to struggle. Last night, families slept out for a second time, pleading for support. We must acknowledge their challenges every day. With this in mind, I acknowledge in my constituency of Dublin Fingal West there are 539 children who have waited for more than 12 months for their…