Rose Conway-Walsh

I cannot believe I am reading this legislation. I have waited every week for it since March. It could have been done in April, May, June, July, August, September, October or November. Here we are now in December and this is what the Government gives us? Is the Government going to take all the calls from people in County Mayo tonight when they look at this legislation and see that 29 March is an ar…

I do not know who thought it was acceptable, or who thought it was acceptable for the Minister to go back on his word. It is certainly not acceptable to me or to homeowners in Mayo. I also wish to raise retrospective payments. Time and time again, I have asked him to cover houses that people had to build before the scheme in. They have to be covered. There are gaps that people are trying to deal …

I am not confident in what is coming out and that the inspection regimes are good enough. The people in Mayo, because they have been let down time and time again, do not have confidence in that either. The Minister referred to alternative suitable accommodation. Deputy Pearse Doherty presented the Minister with a solution to it last week. Again, it was refused by the new the all-singing, all-danc…

The Minister of State has to take out the date of 29 March; I am begging him.

I congratulate the Minister of State on his new role. When we talk about rescue services, I wish to remember Dara Fitzpatrick, Mark Duffy, Paul Ormsby and Ciarán Smith from Rescue 116 who lost their lives on duty in 2017. I also wish to remember Caitríona Lucas from 2016 and the many others who have lost their lives in their service to this country. I thank my colleagues Deputies Cullinane and Mc…

I thank the Independent Technical Group for tabling this motion. It is very important. I thank those in the Gallery who have paid the price, their families and those who are not with us today. Deputy Buckley rightly remembers those who are no longer here. We are here today to confront a profound failure of law, protection and leadership. It is a failure that punishes the brave and protects the pow…

I have seven and a half minutes. Evidence can be shaped. Witnesses can be influenced. Records can be altered or destroyed. Justice can be quietly denied. This is not a minor flaw; it is systemic failure. The Government knows about this gap, but continues to send a clear and chilling message, that if people speak up about criminal activity in An Garda Síochána, they cannot be guaranteed that the w…

9. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet committee on Northern Ireland will next meet. [65414/25]

At last week's session of the Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, we had a profound contribution from the All-Island Cancer Research Institute and the All-Island Congenital Heart Disease Network. It highlighted once again what we have known for some time, namely, that lives can be saved and healthcare can only be delivered to an optimum level across the island when we hav…

That is not true.

Yes, but it is not the truth.

Do not tell untruths.

You are the Taoiseach.

You are the leader.

We have done several studies.

25. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach if he will report on the programme plan for his Department’s new disability unit for 2025-2027. [65415/25]

I ask the Tánaiste to think about this amendment because we in Sinn Féin are trying to find practical solutions. I have been trying to find practical solutions to this situation with pyrite and defective concrete blocks for over a decade. We keep presenting solutions to Government that are not accepted, so I ask the Tánaiste to look at this amendment. It makes sense. It is time-limited. There are …

To continue on that, the Tánaiste really needs to get that this is not just business as usual but a humanitarian situation. The bottom line for me in Mayo, right from the beginning when I first saw people's houses collapsing, was that nobody would be left behind or locked out of this scheme because they could not afford to get into it, could not find an alternative property or whatever else might …

I commend my colleagues Matt Carthy and Maria McCormack on bringing this critical Bill forward. Above all, I welcome the women in the Gallery and thank them from the bottom of my heart for all that they have done and all that they continue to do. I want them to know that it really matters and that it will bring about the change that we need to make when we stand together. I believe the Minister k…

I too wish Paschal Donohoe the very best of luck for the future. We managed to disagree agreeably most of the time. I want to recognise the contribution he has made to political life. I ask him to consider taking a lead from his former leader Leo Varadkar in terms of the work that he has done as an ambassador for the reunification of our island. There are many issues that are facing us that can on…

He can write a book too.

The Minister of State referred to the road freight forum. I could not be in front of the Minister of State without mentioning the western rail corridor and the important part it will play in addressing freight transport in the future. I look forward to an imminent announcement to ensure this is going to happen as quickly as possible. The Minister of State also referred in his statement to the Clim…

10. Deputy Rose Conway-Walsh asked the Taoiseach when the Cabinet Committee on water quality will next meet. [59735/25]

The EU drinking water regulations came into effect in Irish law in March 2023.

The EU drinking water regulations. I raise it in the context of the ongoing intolerable situation where 500 households in Ballycroy and Inishbiggle, in County Mayo are left without water for days on end. The way to solve this is to allow some flexibility in the multi-annual water programme to enable moneys that have been returned to the Department, or are to be returned to the Department, from one…