Peter Roche

The issue I bring to the Taoiseach's attention relates to LEADER funding. I will throw the spotlight on how the allocations affect us in east Galway. Per head of population, Roscommon receives €97; Offaly, €76; Mayo, €64; Clare, €53; and poor east Galway, €37. I ask that consideration be given to rebalancing how LEADER funding is divvied out and that we get our proportionate share.

I acknowledge the extension of the last train from Galway to Dublin on Saturdays, which is now running at 8.50 p.m. as opposed to 7.25 p.m., which is a step in the right direction. It is important also to highlight the inconsistency in the service during the week. The last train departs at 10.25 p.m., yet on Saturdays, when demand for cultural and social events peaks, the cut-off is at the earlier…

Like others, I welcome the review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. I commend the Department of Education and Youth on undertaking that critical work. Although many positives have been reported, the findings of the review confirm what some families, educators and advocates have long felt. We still need to work harder on delivering inclusive, equitable education …

The Government committed in the men's health action plan 2024-28 to increase health literacy and raise public awareness of boys' and men's physical, mental and emotional health through a range of promotional activities. I welcome that the Minister for Health is in the Chamber. How much funding has been allocated to implement the actions in the plan? Is the Government confident the strategy is full…

13. Deputy Peter Roche asked the Minister for Finance the way in which he and his Department intend to help ensure that employment growth continues, given the increased global uncertainty; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28024/25]

I appreciate the Minister coming into the Chamber to deal with the responses to some of the genuine concerns that people have about the finances. I ask the Minister where he and his Department intend to ensure that employment growth continues, given the global uncertainty.

I thank the Minister for a comprehensive response. No matter where you come from, there are, right around the island of Ireland, representatives like me who are concerned about the threat to any job, particularly in the more dispersed rural villages. Everything the Minister for Finance can do would be much appreciated and is much needed. None of us was aware of what the volatile President Trump w…

In east Galway, we are fortunate to have Dexcom. The company is at an advanced stage with its development in Athenry. It plans to employ many people there, which is really welcome. Most of us understand that some companies are better insulated against the proposed tariffs than others. I am heartened to hear the Minister's plans to safeguard employment and the measures he has taken or is considerin…

The Minister has inherited quite a difficult situation. I do not doubt her response, her hands-on approach and the swift action that she has taken. I read in a report that she means business, and rightly so. It is shameful that we have to be talking about this kind of a calamity happening in modern-day medicine. It is hard to believe. Sitting at home listening to the news reports, I found myself …

I thank the Minister very much for the statement she has just read, which is very comprehensive and sets out an ambitious programme of work. I deeply appreciated her coming to visit my constituency of Galway East. She did a great honour to the teaching staff, parents and organisers of the €16,000 fundraiser that developed the sensory room in Barnaderg National School. The fact that the Minister ar…

It is a remarkably decent and generous thing that Cara Darmody has done for this island in terms of bringing this to a level where nothing else has been discussed today, and rightly so. When I was campaigning in my municipal authority of Tuam in the run-up to the local elections last year there were lots of issues discussed, such as housing, homelessness, migration and childcare, and, of course, e…

I thank the Minister of State for coming to the Chamber because this discussion is timely in view of the fact that so many of us have been bombarded by constituents. I support all of the contributions made so far. A total of 80,000 people nationally are waiting for tests. That is quite a substantial number, consisting of young people, students, and people wanting to get access to education or empl…

I understand the Minister is coming to visit Galway this week. I assure him he will be most welcome. Over the past three years, the Galway and Roscommon Education and Training Board, GRETB, has grown significantly. In 2022, there were 17,000 beneficiaries. In 2023, there were 20,000 beneficiaries. In 2024, there were 24,000 beneficiaries. This shows the level of growth in the demand for services …

Europe Day is more than a date on the calendar; it is a moment to reflect on how far we have come as a continent and indeed as a country. In an ever-changing Europe, unity remains the greatest strength. Unity is not about sameness but a shared purpose. Ireland's journey within the European Union has coincided with our transformation into a vibrant, open, knowledge-based society. As an active contr…

I have listened with interest to all the comments throughout the day. If there is anyone from Irish Water listening, I will not take from their woes or suggest it is better than what has been suggested. However, I preface my remarks by saying my engagement with the Irish Water representatives on the ground, when it comes to dealing with local, small issues, has been quite positive. That is against…

I will, and I genuinely thank the Minister of State for his compassion, but the reason I am saying this and bringing this true story to the House is that this is replicated in many other cases right around the county. This woman has water but may as well have none because she would be ten times better off going outside her back door or her front door, bringing in gallons of water and putting it in…

It would be pleasant if President Trump came along next week and said that this was an April fools' joke, but I doubt that will happen. There has been lots of commentary over the past couple of days about the impact this will have on our multinational corporations. However, I want to speak a little about the SMEs that make up 99.8% of our Irish businesses and employ more than two thirds of the wor…

As an east Galway representative, I will speak not just about diverting young people from criminal activity, but about something deeper, that is, how we give young people a life to choose so that they do not fall into crime in the first instance. When we talk about prevention, we must talk about access to services, safe spaces and support systems. Young people need somewhere to go, something to do…

I am not going to take from the Minister's woes. There has been a lot of debate with regard to housing and the need for it within our country. Obviously, as some contributors have already indicated, housing supply and wastewater infrastructure go hand in hand. It has to be said that the lack of investment in wastewater treatment infrastructure is one of the greatest roadblocks in many ways in the …

In his absence, I wish the Minister for Justice well in his role. The issue I wished to raise with the Minister concerns gardaí seeking transfers, particularly the case of a young garda based in Dublin city from my neck of the woods, Abbeyknockmoy, just outside Tuam, She is a married woman with a mortgage on a new property she and her husband built in the last few years. They are blessed with a yo…

I echo the sentiments of my colleagues in wishing the Minister and Minister of State well in their new jobs. The story I want to relate was told on Galway Bay FM last Friday by Professor John Carey, a consultant in rheumatology in Galway county. He shared a very poignant and difficult story about a young mum in her 30s with a young child of 18 months. She had a severe arthritic condition called en…

This is my first opportunity to speak in the House. I want to comment on a tragic event that happened in my community over the past few days where we lost our icon, the great Galway hurler Michael Coleman. I convey my sympathies to his wife, Mary, his son, Dara, and his daughter, Sinéad, and the wider Coleman family. They have given so much to Galway and to hurling. If you drive around east Galwa…