Michael Collins

I thank the Deputy. I did not interrupt when she was speaking.

Hang on a minute, we are talking about them too. There is plenty of time to let the Deputy talk when she wants to. The whole problem of the short-term lets is a serious issue for our communities. At the same time, you see vacant council houses and HSE houses all over the place. There is plenty of housing. The Government is going after a sector it should not be going after.

I thank the Leas Cheann-Comhairle. I might beg your indulgence for a couple of seconds before my Leader's Question. I would briefly like to say "Thank you" to Brigid McGlynn, who is finishing in the Dáil today. I wish her the very best and thank her for all her work and kindness to us all down through the years. She has been here since 1980, so we can only imagine what she has seen and heard in th…

Energy poverty is not a theory. It is a reality in kitchens and sitting rooms across the country today. This morning on "Ireland AM", it was stated that households need an extra €480 a year just to exit fuel poverty. That figure is now backed up by new ESRI research published today, which tells us that 14% of Irish households, one in seven, cannot afford adequate warmth or to pay their energy bill…

I thank the Tánaiste for his reply. If the system was working, 317,000 households would not be in electricity arrears, with average debts close to €500 and 190,000 families stuck in long-term arrears. That is deep-rooted energy hardship and when the ESRI tells us that just €480 a year would lift a household out of fuel poverty, it is indefensible that people are being allowed to sink further into …

I will start by welcoming the package. There is no point in saying that the package has been announced and we are against those announcements. It took a long time. It was a huge struggle because people were bitterly disappointed that that struggle had to take place. At least, something has been put in place. I have other concerns but any recognition by the Government that fuel costs are putting se…

I thank Deputy Gogarty and his staff for putting this motion together. It seeks to reform how our family law system operates, not by removing protections for children but by modernising a system that is too secretive, too closed and too unaccountable for the level of power it exercises over families. Family law cases are sensitive, but sensitivity cannot continue to be used as an excuse for blanke…

Many years ago a young girl from Oldcourt in Bray had a dream. At a time when women were not even allowed to box, Katie Taylor dreamed of winning an Olympic gold medal for Ireland. She went on to achieve that dream in London in 2012 and in doing so she changed Irish sport and world sport forever. Katie has been the driving force behind the rise of women's boxing, helping to bring it to where it is…

I want straight answers today on the delay and the disorder surrounding the short-term letting and tourism Bill. The general scheme was approved by the Government last April, yet we are here again with no Bill published, no final planning guidance and no clarity for the people whose livelihoods are directly affected. At the same time, tens of thousands of small family-run accommodation providers a…

I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. He said that I create a storm but this has been talked about for two years and the Government cannot-----

Sorry. They are ringing me from west Cork.

The Taoiseach is talking about creating a storm. This is a serious storm for the people who are facing a crisis at this moment. They are talking about signing up to something on 20 May. It is like signing a blank cheque. Are people going to have to sign up to something on 20 May, like signing a blank cheque? That is what we are asking. All we are asking for are clear guidelines as to what is going…

That is what I am entitled to do. That is what social media is all about Micheál-----

Sure, you cannot bring it in. The Taoiseach does not-----

We need a serious discussion in the Dáil about the mental health services in this country. A lot of centres are closing down and buildings are being lost. It is a serious issue that needs discussion. I asked for it some time back and it has not happened. I appreciate that we would have a debate on this week going forward.

Today, we will receive a report in the audiovisual room from Ireland's US driver licence exchange campaign on an unnecessary barrier faced by the Irish diaspora and returning citizens. I raised this issue many times. In November 2025, I asked the Tánaiste to liaise with the Minister for Transport to direct the RSA and the National Driver Licence Service to recognise previous Irish driving licences…

I beg the Leas-Cheann Comhairle's indulgence for a few seconds. I offer my sincere sympathy to the family of Councillor Joe Carroll, who died in west Cork, I suppose, suddenly enough. It is a huge blow. It is fitting that we are talking about Our Rural Future because he was a man who fought for the rural people. I was on the council with him for two years. I found him to be a gentleman. We might h…

Independent Ireland supports a lot of what is being proposed here this evening going forward. I would also bear the employer in mind. I do not think anyone has spoken here about the employer and the difficulties many employers have at this present time and which many employers have had for quite a period of time. It is about finding that balance between rooting out the wrong being done to employee…

We have been a long time talking about targets in this House and we are way off our game. To be honest, I have spoken quite a lot about Barryroe oil field and fossil fuels since I came into the Dáil, and I often got Deputies sitting to my right screaming and roaring back at me. After the past two weeks, they now know that we cannot do without fossil fuels. Common sense has prevailed. In fairness, …

He should at least apologise to the people of this country because he hurt people, and he does not need to do that. He is a former leader. He needs to advise maybe and not attack the ordinary people. There are over 300,000 people in energy poverty. How can we create a solution to this? Is it solar panels? The Green Party had to take the hit on this big time because it was in government. To run a …

In 2016, when the Taoiseach was in opposition, he said: ...political parties should not think Parliament is their possession and that they can control anything that happens. To date, we have had such an experience, where Deputies have been removed from committees because they voted against the Government's line. Why has he now done a 360° turn in trying to remove Deputy Danny Healy-Rae from the …

The proposed development of a respite and day service support for individuals with an intellectual disability and an autism centre in Dunmanway is a live project. It is a project that has been discussed for over ten years. While it moves at a snail's pace, sometimes it stops. The former Minister of State, Anne Rabbitte, did a lot of work on it - I give her credit where credit is due - and had prog…

I thank Sinn Féin for bringing this motion forward. As I do not have much time, I will just touch on some of the requirements in this motion. It looks to me as if people with additional needs are always the people who are suffering in this country and fighting to get basic rights. Special needs assistants are being treated unfairly and families are paying the price. The current system is rigid, co…

I want to raise serious and growing concerns regarding the proposed short-term letting and tourism Bill, and in particular the manner in which it is being progressed. The Bill has not yet been published, yet significant changes have already been signalled to thousands of small operators, family businesses and rural communities. Can the Minister of State clarify when the legislation will be publish…

The Minister of State is saying here that people will have to have complied by 20 May 2026. I spent the past seven or eight weeks in the Dáil trying to bring the Minister before us. I mean no disrespect to the Minister of State. He is not the correct Minister to be here because he has nothing to do with tourism. I am not disrespecting the Minister of State. He has to do it. He is busy enough witho…