Catherine Connolly

I preface my remarks by using a few seconds to talk about the four people who are outside here on the 18th day of their hunger strike. We have passed a budget in one of the richest economies in the world and we have four people who have been 18 days on hunger strike outside. They have survived the industrial schools. They are survivors and they are now surviving a hunger strike because they are ta…

I welcome the opportunity to say a few words. I absolutely agree with the contribution of Deputy Charles Ward. Nothing would have prepared me for the extent of, and the damage done by, the defective blocks issue in Donegal. I thought I knew it from listening to colleagues speak on the issue, including my previous colleague, Thomas Pringle, as well as members of Sinn Féin. Nothing prepared me for t…

Ní leor é sin chun dul i ngleic leis na dúshláin-----

------atá os comhair Údarás na Gaeltachta agus na nGaeltachtaí. Go raibh maith agat, a Cheann Comhairle.

26. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport for an update on the development of a permanent successor scheme to the basic income for the arts pilot; his plans to publish the cost benefit analysis paper; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52574/25]

80. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Health if her Department’s review of the development control plan and strategic assessment report for the University Hospital Galway campus has been completed to date; if not, the expected timeline for the review to be completed and the documents returned to the HSE; the details of the enabling works underway; the details of any further enabling…

I thank the Leas-Cheann Comhairle for exercising his discretion. It is back to the matter of University Hospital Galway. I know the Minister is familiar with it now. I am asking very specific questions in relation to her Department's review of the development control plan and the strategic assessment report for the University Hospital Galway campus. Has it been completed? What is its status, if it…

I thank the Minister for her comprehensive reply. I will look at it in detail. When I look back at the history of this, the language keeps changing. There is now a strategic plan, a preliminary business case and the strategic assessment report. I welcome what the Minister has given me and the face we will make progress but in 2014, the then Minister, Leo Varadkar, said a new hospital and a new bui…

I agree with the Minister. I know the hospital very well and I know about the very good services that are provided there. When people get a service, it is absolutely brilliant and I have no problem saying that. I am a committed believer in the public health system. My difficulty is that as we speak, there are 35 people on trolleys, or there was that number yesterday. It has been under enormous pre…

Le 11 lá anois, tá ceathrar - triúr ban agus fear amháin - i mbun stailc taobh amuigh den Dáil agus éilimh thar a bheith bunúsach acu. Tá siad ag iarraidh rochtain a bheith acu ar phinsean ranníocach agus ar chárta leighis speisialta, an cárta HAA. Ceapann siad nach bhfuil an dara rogha acu ach leanúint ar aghaidh lena stailc ocrais. Is mór an náire é go bhfuil orthu é sin a dhéanamh agus muidne i…

I appreciate the Minister's concern but four people have had to take this action. I have asked them to stop. It is very difficult to watch four people on hunger strike. The Minister talked about consistency. All of the governments have been consistent in their mean-spirited approach to this. They have been saving pennies while spending other money foolishly, as was outlined earlier on. The request…

Over two weeks ago, I raised the very positive proposal by Government, which is a policy directive to ban vessels over 18 m from fishing within the 6 mile limit. The Taoiseach promised to get back to me and I realise he is very busy, however, two weeks have lapsed and the policy directive is to become effective from 1 October. I can see no sign of the policy directive. I very much welcome it but g…

That is the announcement but where is the policy?

It will be effective from October.

99. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport for a status update on the development of the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy; the timeline for the completion of the strategy; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51768/25]

119. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Transport further to Question No. 137 of 24 June 2025, the progress to date on the roll-out of light rail for Galway, following the publication of the feasibility study on 30 October 2024; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51778/25]

I am not sure whether the Minister or Minister of State will answer this question. Galway is a beautiful city. Is cathair dhátheangach í ar thairseach na Gaeltachta is mó sa tír ach is fadhb ollmhór é an tranglam tráchta. Baineann mo cheist leis na réitigh. I am asking for a status update on the development of the Galway metropolitan area transport strategy, which has been in place since 2016. It …

I thank the Minister for the comprehensive answer. Unfortunately, there is no park-and-ride facility in Galway even though it went into the plan 20 years ago on 1 February 2005. It has simply never been rolled out. On a feasibility study for light rail, we collected 24,000 signatures. I forget which year it was, it is so long ago now, but it was 2017 or 2018. It took until last year to get the fea…

I think it is a false argument about the need for an outer bypass or not. This is about sustainable solutions and transformative action. Let us go back to why the An Bord Pleanála decision was quashed. There was an agreement to quash the decision because it had failed to consider the climate action plan. Imagine that it had failed to do that. What I am trying to get at here is because we put all o…

The question was about park and ride.

18. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment the number and value of dual-use export licence applications, in respect of end-users in Israel, approved by his Department by quarter to date in 2025; the number refused in each quarter to date in 2025; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [50786/25]

I thank the Minister of State for her good wishes. Exports of dual-use goods have increased phenomenally, which might be good or bad depending on the oversight arrangements we have. In 2023, the value of dual-use exports to Israel spiked to nearly seven times what it was in the previous year. It came down slightly but remained high in 2024. The value of dual-use goods exported in 2022 was €10.7 m…

I respect the Minister of State's bona fides and I know she will get back to me. In 2023, our exports of dual-use goods to Israel spiked by seven times, at a time when, in my opinion, genocide was happening and has continued to unfold before our eyes. Back in February 2024, the then Minister, Simon Coveney, said the Department of trade and the Department of Foreign Affairs "review all dual-use exp…

Go raibh maith agat.

I thank the Minister of State for his comprehensive statement and for setting it out. I welcome that. I also welcome the policy, which is just the second policy on this in the history of the State. The first policy started in 2019. Significantly, that was the year we promised transformative action and declared a climate and a biodiversity emergency. We never really got that transformative action. …