Michael Collins

Today, I am not armed with some briefing note drafted by civil servants far removed from the realities of rural Ireland, but with the voice of the people I represent. People in places like Goleen, Adrigole and Drimoleague who have not seen a community garda in years. We are told the Policing, Security and Community Safety Act was the most significant reform in two decades but to be honest, I have …

I join Deputy O'Flynn in congratulating the Minister on his new role. This is the first chance I have had to do so. I look forward to working with him and knowing his history, it will be easy to work with him. This new law is a response to a Supreme Court decision from 22 January 2024 in the case of John O'Meara and others against the Minister for Social Protection. John O'Meara lost his partner …

What is being proposed by the Government is a direct threat to Ireland's long-standing neutrality. I will not stay silent while it is being chipped away bit by bit. The triple lock mechanism is not some red tape dreamt up in Brussels; it is a safeguard, which means that Irish troops cannot be sent abroad unless three things happen: Government approval, a vote in the Dáil and, crucially, a United N…

A referendum is what is needed so that the people have a say.

A referendum is the proper place for that. The people of Ireland would send a very clear message to the Government about their feelings on this matter, but it will not allow a referendum on the matter. The Government knows the people do not support this direction, so instead of asking, it is sneaking it through. The Government tells us it is about flexibility and not letting one country's veto st…

Everyone in the Dáil has someone close to them suffer from cancer at one stage or another. As I stand here, I express my heartfelt thanks to the Irish Cancer Society and to all who work and care for those suffering from cancer. This coming Friday is daffodil day and I hope people come out to support the cancer society in whatever way they can. A cancer diagnosis turns people's lives upside down. …

If we go ahead today with Government proposals on giving extra time for Government-backing TDs in Opposition time, it shows how far this Government is capable of going in eroding the democracy of the island of Ireland.

Our general election took place on 29 November 2024, and for a couple of months a Government had to be put together. On 22 January, the Dáil sat and for the first time was forced to call off Dáil proceedings so an agreement could be made to bring this speaking row to an end. All of this time we the Opposition were united on one front: that Deputy Lowry's group had a right to speaking time in this …

Every effort by the Government since has been to do everything but that. On the morning of 23 January, the Taoiseach and Tánaiste met with us leaders to end this row and let the Dáil get back to the business it had to do - elect the Taoiseach, set up committees - and we all agreed we would work together to create a solution on this hugely important issue for the country. Less than an hour later, …

-----as they have clearly agreed to support this Government one way or another, which is their own prerogative I may add. The next scheduled meeting of the Dáil reform committee was scheduled for 26 February. At this meeting came the bombshell from the Government Chief Whip, Deputy Mary Butler, that the previous verbal agreement given by the Taoiseach and Tánaiste and read out by the Minister of S…

------and a railroading of democracy was going ahead. When summing up today, the Taoiseach will say we had enough time to try to get an agreement from the Opposition but it would not agree. Since the day he was elected, however, we have only had two meetings of the Dáil reform committee to try to resolve this issue in 28 days. I know because I attended these meetings. Is the Taoiseach a man of his…

We have written to the Taoiseach numerous times to try to resolve this issue and to make sure this dark day for democracy would not happen but he has chosen to ignore it. Will the Taoiseach at this late stage, sit down with the Opposition leaders and thrash out an agreement to bring this sorry episode to an end?

I thank the Ceann Comhairle. It looks like, no matter what we say here, the Government is going to railroad these changes through. It is very clear to the good, honest and hard-working people of this country that this is what the Taoiseach was going to do anyway. He has to be straight and honest. What is the deal he has done with Deputy Michael Lowry that has him spellbound? We know the deal has c…

We need to know. The taxpayer needs to know. The ordinary man and woman who cannot afford to pay weekly bills need to know here and now. They know it is a sleazy deal that taxpayers must pay heavily for. On top of that, the Taoiseach wants them to ask planted questions in this House to make a mockery of the Irish people in Dáil Éireann. I ask the Taoiseach to come clean on the deal that might yet…

Do not let it cost us our democracy also.

My office has been inundated with requests from constituents seeking assistance in expediting their driving tests. These are mostly young people and they are waiting ten months or more for a driving test. Many of these have secured job offers but are unable to accept them due to the lack of transportation in rural Ireland. We do not have a frequent bus service, the Luas or regularly available taxi…

These statements on international security and international trade provide an important opportunity for TDs to have their say. In recent weeks and months, we have had many people speaking here about our neutrality and participation in what is happening across the world. The Tánaiste only recently stated that as far as he is concerned, we need to spend a lot more money on our defence. I agree with …

Independent Ireland will also be supporting this motion on young carers. I thank the Labour Party for putting forward this very important motion. It is astonishing to think we have 67,000 young carers in this country. We have given them nothing but lip service over recent years, which is an injustice to those young people. Many of them are in the Gallery and were in the audiovisual room earlier. W…

I agree with the previous two speakers in relation to speaking time, and it needs to be resolved as business needs to be done. Last week, a deal was struck by the Department and the unions on a 9.25% pay increase for many healthcare workers under section 39 contracts. This is to be rolled out over a two-year period. I publicly welcomed this long-awaited move only to realise that the devil is in t…

Almost every day here we talk about housing targets. Today, in one leading newspaper, an article states that this Government will be 13,000 homes behind the 2027 targets it set last November. This is one crisis that must be resolved immediately. Another crisis, though, is rural, one-off planning. It is almost grinding to a halt. I have up to ten people coming to me weekly in west Cork. In some cas…

We are years talking in the Dáil about housing. I listened to the Fianna Fáil Deputy who spoke previously and I have to agree with him. Regarding Ukrainians and others, we have been promising that all sorts of construction can be done and all sorts of structures can be built but we cannot do anything for our own selves. That is something we need to do very soon. I hope the Minister will look at ho…

I forgot to congratulate the Minister and Minister of State on their appointments to their positions. I wish them well going forward. I hope we can work closely together. One of them is from my own constituency so we should be able to work closely together. I think this is the second or third time I have spoken about housing today in the Dáil. It is a huge crisis and a huge issue. It does not matt…

It is no problem at all.

I move: That Dáil Éireann: notes that: — overspending and waste within the public sector not only erodes trust in Government but also diverts resources from essential services; and — as members of Dáil Éireann, and therefore custodians of the public purse, we have a duty to the people of Ireland to be committed to ensuring that taxpayers' money is managed responsibly, efficiently, and transpar…

Independent Ireland.