Michael Collins

Since last July, the Adrigole-Beara community has had up to 14 water outages, never mind what was happening before this, leaving residents young and old in farms, schools and créches without water for a day or two in some cases. This has led to the closure of the local school and créche. Families with small babies have moved out of the community when the water supply has broken, leaving people ver…

I state unequivocally that we do not ever condone violence. The events in Drogheda over the weekend were deeply disturbing and there is absolutely no place in this country for such behaviour, no matter who owns the building. Let us be honest, however, that condemning violence is only part of the conversation. We must also confront the systematic failure in our immigration system. These failures ar…

Next week sees the inauguration of our new President and I wish Catherine Connolly the very best in her presidency. This will mean a by-election in Galway West. We in Independent Ireland strongly believe that this by-election should take place immediately. To facilitate this we have already put forward our candidate Councillor Noel Thomas who is working on the ground as we speak. Can we debate----…

Can we debate here this week as to how soon the writ will be issued so that the people of Galway West will get the representation they fully deserve?

Last night, businesses and residents were once again flooded in Bantry after a night of heavy rain. Since I came into the Dáil in 2016, I have raised this issue monthly - the latest was two weeks ago. The answer I got a couple of weeks ago from the Minister was that a flood relief scheme would be delivered to Bantry in 2031. The people of Bantry have been destroyed by floods last night and for dec…

This Bill allows the ESB to borrow up to €17 billion and issue €1.5 billion in capital stock, much of it going to two Departments. It is framed as a step towards modernising our grid and preparing for future demand. Yes, investment in infrastructure is always vital but, let us be clear, the people of Ireland are already paying the price - literally. Electricity bills have soared. The average house…

This is smart, fair and deeply necessary legislation that puts families first. For too long, the cost of school uniforms has placed an unfair burden on parents. According to Barnardos, back-to-school costs now average €725 for primary school pupils and €1,100 for secondary school. That is not just a statistic; it is a crisis. Families are dipping into savings, taking out loans and making impossibl…

We in Independent Ireland welcome this motion. This is the kind of genuine, sensible proposal that speaks to ordinary Irish people, North and South. It is a motion about fairness, inclusion and democracy, which have been missing to date from too much of the operation of our political system. The presidential election has brought that into sharp focus in recent weeks. Independent Ireland supports …

Today, for the first time in the history of the Dáil, we are giving men's health the attention it urgently deserves. Ireland led the world in 2009 with the first national men's health policy but the latest version of the report, The Real Face of Men's Health, shows we are at a crossroads. In 2022, 40.2% of all male deaths were premature. Men in the most deprived areas are 150% more likely to die b…

I thank the Chief Whip for making the statements possible today. Deputy Mac Lochlainn and I pushed hard for this debate, which is of huge importance at the present time. I would like this to be an honest debate. I do not want to stand here speaking and not getting answers. I would like to get answers to the questions I am putting to the Minister. I want us to work together to save our fishing indu…

Fourth, will the Minister commit to pushing for the application of the Hague preferences to ensure Irish fishers can legally fish in their own waters? Fifth, why is Ireland being denied a dedicated quota for bluefin tuna despite a clear recovery in stock levels and historical fishing effort? Sixth, does the Minister accept that the Common Fisheries Policy and the Brexit trade and co-operation agre…

Last night, a ten-year-old Irish girl under Tusla care was allegedly sexually assaulted on the grounds of the Citywest Hotel, a facility housing asylum seekers. The suspect, an asylum applicant with a deportation order, had remained in the country despite being refused protection earlier this year, making the attacker here an illegal immigrant. The people are rightly alarmed. We need an urgent and…

The VAT reduction to 9% for hairdressers, cafés and restaurants is very welcome. I thank the Government for doing that and delivering for these people who were practically on their knees. I cannot understand that some parties in here are crying that the Government should not have done that. They obviously do not talk to the restaurant or café owners who are in a desperate situation. Cinemas also w…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion on Irish unity before us. I am not afraid of unity. The Independent Ireland party is not afraid of unity. However, I speak with both caution and conviction on this motion. The question of Irish unity is not just a constitutional matter; it is a deeply personal and emotional issue for many across this island. It deserves thoughtful, inclusive and respectfu…

5. Deputy Michael Collins asked the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science the further actions he intends to take to increase craft apprenticeship participation given the additional funding announced in budget 2026 and the urgent need to increase the number of people qualified in the trades; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [56315/25]

I welcome the recent announcement of funding of €339 million for craft apprenticeships for 2025. It is my understanding that this funding will be used to support the expansion of training places, the recruitment and retention of instructors, and the provision of more places, especially in trades needed for housing infrastructure, including, as the Minister of State said, plumbers and electricians.…

We are depending on migrant workers to build these houses. These workers have come from Poland, Latvia, Moldova, Bolivia, South Africa and other places across the world. As I said, there are 300,000 new homes needed by 2030 and there are 170,000 people working in construction, but 30,000 to 40,000 is a lot of people to be found between now and 2030. All these workers need to be trained. How many y…

Today, I speak on behalf of Vera Twomey and her late daughter, Ava Barry. This is a story that embodies the courage of Irish families and the urgent need for compassionate healthcare reform. Ava suffered from Dravet syndrome and endured up to 500 seizures per month. When conventional treatments failed, Vera fought tirelessly for access to medicinal cannabis. She walked from Cork to Leinster House …

I thank the Minister of State for being here with us today to discuss a very important matter for the constituency of Cork South West, namely, the many areas of flooding and, in particular, the Bantry, Ballylickey and Ballinascarthy flood relief schemes. This morning, I was talking to somebody from Bantry. They said that in 1983, 42 years ago, they had to sit in a shop with their legs up in the ai…

I thank the Minister of State for the reply but the problem here is that the can is being kicked down the road in relation to the Bantry flood scheme. It looks to me as if the Minister of State in charge of the OPW, whoever it may be, will be heading down to Bantry for the next six or seven years. I will be giving the same spin below, telling businesses that I am very sorry but we will have to wai…

I am in full support of this vital motion to reform the defective concrete redress scheme. Families across Ireland are living in homes that are crumbling around them - unsafe, uninsurable and unfit for human habitation. The current scheme is failing them. The appeals are delayed for years. Partial repairs are unsafe, and the financial burden is crushing. These families did nothing wrong, yet they …

I have raised the proposed mussel farm in Kinsale with the Taoiseach before. This proposal, which will cover a vast area of sea, will have huge negative consequences for tourism, watersports and fishermen in the area. The guidelines must be changed. When I raised the Kinsale issue and formally called for change, my request was refused by the Minister, Michael Creed, at the time. The guidelines mus…

I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Gillian and Stephen on the heartbreaking loss of their son Harvey. Harvey's story has touched the hearts of people throughout Ireland. He was a bright, brave young boy who endured immeasurable pain while waiting for care he desperately needed. No parent should have to fight for years to secure surgery for their child. No child should be removed from …

I have been requesting statements on tillage for the past few weeks. I acknowledge the Chief Whip for her help in making sure we got a chance to speak on behalf of Ireland's tillage farmers. It is an essential yet increasingly vulnerable part of our agricultural landscape. The tillage sector is in crisis. For the third consecutive year, farmers are facing financial losses. Despite their resilience…

I called last week at the Business Committee for an urgent debate on the fishing crisis in this country and the recent proposals. The International Energy Agency has found that retail energy prices in Ireland are three times higher than the wholesale prices. Irish households are basically paying the highest electricity prices in Europe, leaving energy providers laughing all the way to the bank as …