Louis O'Hara

Last week, the Happily Ever After childcare service in Tuam, County Galway, informed parents that it will be forced to close its doors at the end of this month. The building does not meet fire safety requirements. The landlord has reneged on previous commitments to carry out the necessary works on the building to make it safe and has said these works would be too costly. This has left the operator…

Budget 2026 was an insult to people with disabilities. Cost-of-living measures have been pulled and a miserable €10 per week increase in the disability allowance payment was all the Minister could offer. The Disability Federation of Ireland estimates this amounts to a €1,400 drop in income for people with disabilities; a group who are already at increased risk of poverty. The federation's research…

14. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Justice, Home Affairs and Migration the action he will take in relation profiteering in the international protection accommodation sector, including in the context of significant concerns raised in the Comptroller and Auditor General's annual report about the spending of public money; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [53889/25]

Will the Minister of State outline actions he is going to take in relation to profiteering in the international protection accommodation sector, especially in the aftermath of significant concerns raised in the Comptroller and Auditor General's report about the spending of public money?

This review is a damning indictment of the Government's failure to address profiteering and cost overruns within the IPAS system. The report outlines evidence of private operators overcharging for the provision of accommodation, including companies charging for beds that were not provided and charging VAT in circumstances where accommodation is exempt from VAT, signed contracts and proof of owners…

The Minister of State has thrown around a lot of blame instead of accepting that he and his Department are responsible for this waste of taxpayers' money. Where is the oversight on the part of the Department? I fear the report has revealed only a fraction of what has been happening. The Minister of State needs to get to grips with the issue and put an end to the squandering of public money. The M…

This is a budget that completely abandons workers and families to look after those at the top. This budget could have been an opportunity to stand squarely on the side of families and support them through the ongoing cost-of-living crisis but Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have decided to throw households under the bus and have not provided any cost-of-living package whatsoever. This can be seen clearl…

I have raised with the Minister of State previously the need for a publicly owned swimming pool in Loughrea, County Galway. As he will be aware, this is something the community in Loughrea has been seeking for a very long time, more than 30 years at this stage. There is a new committee to work on this in place in Loughrea and I am pleased to be part of it. It is making great efforts to progress th…

It is clear the cost of insurance is a rip-off. In advance of this motion, I spoke to my constituents. They have told me of the all too common story of insurance companies screwing them on premiums and renewals. To give an idea of this, one woman told me of how she faces an increase of over €600 between her car and home insurance renewals this year. She did not get a chance to speak to her insuran…

96. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Transport to provide an update on the work his Department is undertaking following the review of the national development plan; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52148/25]

Could the Minister provide an update on the work his Department is undertaking following the review of the national development plan? Could he specifically outline how projects are being assessed at the moment by his Department for inclusion in the plan, the criteria he is using to assess projects and how they will be prioritised in terms of timelines for delivery?

Funding announcements are very welcome but, obviously, what will matter is the delivery of projects and it is clear there are serious deficits in our transport infrastructure across the State. We have yet to see the detail of the plan and what projects are going to be funded and delivered. As Deputy Daly pointed out, the only project specifically mentioned in the NDP was MetroLink. As I have menti…

The question was how the Minister was going to ensure that is regionally balanced. In terms of regional balance, one issue I have repeatedly raised is overcrowding on rail services between Athenry and Galway. We have the passing loop coming at Oranmore, which is welcome, but it will be some time before that is delivered and ultimately, we need full double-tracking of that section between Athenry a…

I will say at the outset that it is a disgrace that the Minister, Deputy Carroll MacNeill, is not here. The downgrading of maternity services at Portiuncula University Hospital is a huge issue that is causing enormous stress and worry for families in my constituency and beyond. She is accountable for this and should have the decency and courage to come in here tonight to take questions. It is deep…

Everybody understands that safety is paramount here and that we need to ensure the well-being of mothers and children, but forcing women in high-risk pregnancies to travel long distances is not appropriate. In the Minister of State's view, is that safe? Why would women not be given the choice as to where they can access maternity care? This will place further pressure on other maternity services a…

The school transport scheme is an annual crisis for families, students and bus drivers who are left in the dark at a time when they should be focused on the return to school. One case that really highlights the chaos of this scheme is that of a man living near Loughrea whose two children attend a school in Ballinasloe. They have been left without school transport since the school year started. The…

In recent weeks, I have attended a number of different community meetings in my constituency relating to proposed energy projects. These are causing a lot of concern and are very divisive. They are all being led by private investors. To give a few examples, in Athenry, Bord Gáis Energy is proposing to build the Cashla peaker plant 2.5 km from Athenry town. This is an open-cycle gas turbine plant w…

It is unacceptable that the review of wind energy guidelines has taken several years. It is a dereliction of duty from the Government while these developments are causing such unease in our communities. We all recognise that this is something that will never be perfect. There will always be controversial developments, but the Government, at the very minimum, needs to step in to put some kind of pl…

Access to dental services is fundamental to a person's overall health. A person's income or means should not be a factor as to whether he or she can access the dental services he or she requires. However, we have seen a total collapse in the school screening programme, while adults with a medical card find it increasingly difficult to access care under the dental treatment services scheme, DTSS. O…

I wish to raise the issue of energy developments in County Galway. My constituency has seen some of the highest concentration of wind energy projects across the State. There are proposals for a large solar project in Monivea and two large-scale gas-fired generation plants in Athenry and Portumna. These projects are causing huge unease in communities. They are extremely divisive and they are all be…

We have wind farms, a solar project in Monivea and two large-scale gas-fired generation plants being proposed in Athenry and Portumna.

In general, yes. All these projects are very divisive. They are all being led by private investors that are only interested in extracting a profit from local resources and are not interested in the communities around them. The public consultations on these projects are nothing more than box-ticking exercises. There is no input from communities and many large-scale projects are in close proximity t…

I am not rejecting them. I am just about talking about guidelines for where they should be going in.

The cost-of-living is too high but the Government is in complete denial about this reality. It seems to believe that the cost-of-living crisis is over and it is ruling out a cost-of-living package while households struggle. It is clear the Government is totally out of touch. Every week in my clinics, I have people coming in to me who are struggling to make ends meet, with high energy costs, rent a…

105. Deputy Louis O'Hara asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science if he will reverse his decision to increase the student contribution fee for third level undergraduate students; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37415/25]