Mairéad Farrell

How much time do I have?

I have a minute, then he has a minute, and I have a minute again. Is that correct? I am sorry but it is a bit confusing.

That is perfect. That is all I wanted to know. The underfunding of Galway County Council is an issue that I and na Teachtaí O'Hara and Kerrane recently raised. We did not get a commitment in relation to that from the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, but my issue is that we have a crumbling infrastructure in the west of Ireland when it comes to the basic necessities. If we cann…

The cost-of-living crisis is hitting my constituency of Galway West incredibly hard. In this Chamber I have raised countless examples of families in Galway under unbearable pressure from the cost of living. Working people cannot make their wages stretch to cover soaring rents, crippling energy bills and the ever-increasing cost of their weekly shop. Crucially, rents are now up in Galway by 18%. Th…

The European Presidency gives Ireland the opportunity to put the interests of the Irish people firmly on the EU's agenda. First, Irish unity should be front and centre of that agenda. The Presidency is an opportune time to advance structured discussions on preparing for a united Ireland within the EU. Second, the cost-of-living crisis demands an EU-wide response centred on energy and food affordab…

Our motion recognises a simple truth. Affordable childcare is not a luxury. It is an essential public service, a service families must be able to access. Crucially, childcare providers and early years educators must also be properly supported. In Galway, the reality is very different from the picture painted by the Government. Parents contact me all the time because they cannot secure a childcare …

Tá go leor cainte faoi chúrsaí infreastruchtúir faoi láthair. D’ardaigh mé cheana leis an Taoiseach na fadhbanna sa bhuninfreastruchtúr i gConamara. Ciallaíonn sé sin an cineál infreastruchtúr simplí atá ag teastáil ionas go mbeadh daoine in ann a bheith ina gcónaí in áit agus go mbeadh siad in ann obair ann freisin. Ceann de na rudaí bunúsacha sin ná cúrsaí leathanbhanda. Tá áiteanna ar fud fad C…

Galway County Council continues to be underfunded to the tune of millions of euro. This is something that again shows the poor budgeting of this Government, the fact that it is unable to fund Galway County Council as is needed. This has consequences. This is something that the people of County Galway live every single day. It is seen in the state of our roads. If one looks at the state of the road…

One thing I have learned in this Chamber is that if the Government does not want to explain something, it will say it is complex, and that it is a little bit too complex for us to understand. It is not too complex for us to understand. We are fully and acutely aware that Galway County Council has continuously been underfunded. How do we know that? It is because Galway County Council has been clear…

The conflict in Sudan is causing devastating levels of hunger and displacement. The Sudanese community here in Ireland is making the point that the conflict will continue. There is serious concern regarding violence in the Kordofan and Blue Nile states and the expected intensification of conflict in North Darfur. Day after day, people are being killed, but because it is happening on the African co…

I asked about Sudan.

Just over eight years ago, the people of this State made a decision. They made that decision to repeal the eighth amendment. We saw how it impacted on people. It impacted on young people and older people. We saw how this created a movement that saw young Irish people who were scattered across the globe come home to vote in what they felt was a critical referendum for their future. Many of us here…

This Bill deals with access to social housing support. I am aware the rules outlined in it are already in place in my two local authorities, Galway City Council and Galway County Council. I want to talk about the impact of the housing crisis on the people of Galway. For the majority of people trying to access social housing support in Galway, it is extremely difficult, if not impossible. If you ar…

The Minister is relatively new in the role as the Minister for foreign affairs. I am really concerned about the route she is going down on a number of issues. This week is outlining the Minister' policy position in terms of the Department of foreign affairs. The Government is looking to dismantle the triple lock, totally against the wishes of people. That is the dismantling of our neutrality. Now,…

This legislation is a suite of reluctant half-measures, a package that does not meet the challenge of high fuel prices. Once this legislation is enacted petrol, diesel and home heating oil will continue to be unaffordable for hundreds of thousands of people and that is just not good enough. We know that it is not just the cost of fuel that people are struggling with. A package to reduce the cost o…

1. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation the way in which the projected overspends of his Department will impact the budgets of other Government Departments; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40817/26]

Will the Minister give us an update on the projected overspends of the Department of education and how they will impact on the budgets of other Government Departments?

That was incorrect.

That mistake was not on my side.

That was not the question I submitted, but I understand it is what the Minister has been told. I do not know if we should skip this question. I might just ask my question and if the Minister cannot answer it is not on him, which is totally fine. I accept that he was not aware. It is a bit of a mess, like this mess. My question relates to overspends in the Department of education and specifically h…

I know.

To be clear, the question the Minister received is not the question I was asking. I thank him for the answer, but the issue is that if you look at it in the context of what he is saying here and what is being done, things do not really add up. In January, the Minister said that the Government's massive expenditure on consultancy services was adding cost, delay and significant fragmentation to infr…

3. Deputy Mairéad Farrell asked the Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation if he will report on his visit to the Bilderberg conference in Washington DC in April 2026; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [40659/26]

The issue here is that in the spirit of the Bilderberg conference, which is a secretive conference, the Minister has not given me a full breakdown of exactly what he did and what he was discussing. It is only through a freedom of information request we have an insight into what he got up to. We also need to see it in the context of the time. When fuel protestors were out on the streets demanding t…

I did not ask the Minister about his discussions with the US Chamber of Commerce. I asked him specifically about the Bilderberg conference. The focus on militarisation was absolutely clear from the agenda, which included discussions on the transatlantic defence industrial relationship, the Middle East and the future of warfare. As he is the Minister for public expenditure I find it concerning he w…