Michael Collins

We need an urgent debate this week with the Minister for Climate, Energy and the Environment regarding An Post. The announcement that the cost of a stamp is increasing from €1.60 to €1.80 comes at a time when post offices are closing all over the country and the current contracts are not stacking up. A post office in Durrus in my constituency is closing on Friday. The Government cannot stand idly …

Tens of thousands of people in this country smoke cigarettes. Tens of thousands of people use vapes. Those are the facts. A lot of these people do so as a bit of a relaxant. We have to understand that is a fact in this country. We tend to think that we should ban everything. This Bill proposes a full ban on the sale of single-use vapes and when it comes to children, I fully agree that no child sh…

An Garda Síochána estimated that 27,000 people turned up last Saturday. There were 3,750 tractors there. Thankfully, there were no incidents. These are community people who want to protect the health of people. They were not all farmers; there were business people and people who have an interest in the health of the citizens of their country. There has been serious confusion coming from the Govern…

On a point of order, I asked the Minister of State to clarify whether Barry Andrews, Regina Doherty or Seán Kelly will be voting with Ireland or voting with Ursula in a couple of weeks' time. The Minister of State has to give clarity on that.

It is hugely important.

This issue once again exposes a growing divide in the country between those who live and work in rural Ireland and those who comment on it from a distance with little understanding of what life is actually like on the ground in rural Ireland. Foxes are a real and present danger to livestock and livelihoods and, increasingly, to public safety. Only last week, there were reports of a woman in Cavan …

I have none. I have never been to one in my life.

It is not her speaking time. Respect the House.

A disgrace.

I welcome to the Gallery representatives of the fishing sector. I see Patrick Murphy, whom I met on Sunday, and others there. They have always had the heart of the fisherman at the forefront of their efforts. Fishers are going through a dreadful situation. The previous speaker referred to a sellout but, in fact, we did not sell out; what we had was taken away from us. If we got something for it, t…

I have very little time. This has to be appealed in every court in our land and in Europe. We have to stand up to them. It is up to the Minister of State. It is up to Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael. It is up to this Government to now stand with Irish fishermen. If it does not, and we see that happen in the next month, it will be an abject failure and the Government will be to blame.

To start with, we in Independent Ireland extend our sincere sympathies to the families of all those who lost their lives in Australia in the past few days as a result of the Bondi Beach tragedy. What happened last Friday in Brussels was nothing short of a disgrace. It was a betrayal of the Irish fishing industry and of every costal community in this country. Ireland has been stabbed in the back b…

-----protect what is left of our industry before it is whipped off the map. If we do not, mark my words, the Irish fishing industry will not survive another decade.

Will the Government challenge this in courts going forward?

Let us be honest: a task force is political theatre. It will not restore quotas, it will not save jobs and it will not undo the betrayal of last Friday. Ireland has been stripped of the Hague preferences, with our share cut to less than 9% while others walked away with 91%. That is piracy, not partnership. I met many trawler owners in Castletownbere on Sunday. They tell me that 30 articulated lorr…

Could we have statements this week on Mercosur? It is of very serious concern. We saw what happened with fisheries last Friday. We cannot have that happen with agriculture. Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael MEPs are more or less making statements saying they are going to support it, and we want the rest of Europe to go our way. We need statements on that.

I have also called for statements on Uisce Éireann. It is very hard to get it here.

I will start with some criticism I heard about the Government's introduction of a lower rate for the hospitality sector. I welcome that from the bottom of my heart because I know what it means. It tells you how out of touch with reality the Social Democrats, the Labour Party and People Before Profit are that they do not understand the benefit of the VAT rate going down from 13% to 9%. It is an ast…

The best way to describe this situation is that we are now right at the bottom of the barrel in society. In the UK, the Labour Party Government brought in cuts in funeral cost supports and there was an absolute outcry. Elderly people in the UK are absolutely disgusted their Government did that. What the Government here is doing with blister pack charges is shocking. It is attacking the most vulner…

The Sea-Fisheries Protection Authority, SFPA, prosecuted Sean Ward (Fish Exports) Limited, a Killybegs seafood company, for allegedly tampering with weighing scales in 2015. The case collapsed after ten years in late 2025, with the judge citing a complete lack of evidence. This has led to a huge industry backlash against the SFPA for what many have called harassment, wasted resources and damaged r…

I am a strong advocate for preserving Ireland's rural heritage. In the Dáil, I have spoken about the cultural importance of local greyhound racing and traditions that bring communities together. I have also called for the continued State support of €19 million annually for greyhound tracks to ensure these venues can survive and thrive. I believe in sustaining rural life, protecting jobs and celebr…

I want to address an issue that is becoming increasingly urgent, namely the safety of our children online. On radio today, Galway West Independent Ireland Councillor Noel Thomas called on the Government to examine the Australian model. This is a conversation we can no longer avoid. Australia has produced the online safety assurance Bill 2025, which sets clear and enforceable standards, bans social…

I am speaking on behalf of the families whose lives have been shattered by defective concrete blocks. Homes across the country are crumbling, walls are splitting, ceilings are collapsing and mould is creeping into children's bedrooms. These are not statistics; they are real people living in fear and paying mortgages on houses that may not stand in six or seven years. The current redress scheme is …

I want to bring up the Galway West and Dublin Central by-elections and the fact that nobody is talking about them and the writs have not been issued. The Mercosur deal is hugely important. We have a crisis in this country where we face, on 20 December, the Commissioner trying to push this ahead so that she can sell vehicles from Germany. There is a Fine Gael MEP and a Fianna Fáil MEP who state th…

We need a clear statement form the Taoiseach. What is the stance of Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael MEPs? Do they support the Mercosur deal or not?