Paul Nicholas Gogarty

We have to differentiate between those who need our help and those who do not. We have made a commitment to the Ukrainian people, some of it because we are not supplying weaponry as a militarily neutral country to help the Ukrainians in their fight against the illegal Russian invasion and onslaught that has killed so many of their people. We have made a commitment and if we make a commitment, we h…

The Taoiseach may have seen the latest figures from the Health Products Regulatory Authority, HPRA, which are a cause for concern. Last year, for example, more than 750,000 units of illegal or fake medicines were seized and the number of individual packages separately purchased by members of the public rose by a whopping 180%. There was a 30-fold surge in fake glucagon-like peptide-1, GLP-1, weigh…

A week on from previous statements, the Government has finally come up with some measures, so I will be supporting them, like others in this House. However, that does not mean I think they are in any way sufficient. Hauliers have been dealt with and there is the 2 cent measure coming tomorrow with respect to storage, but the reduction in excise duty on its own is not enough. The cost of fuel has g…

I want to begin by broadly welcoming the Bill and acknowledging the important work it seeks to do in bringing us into line with the European Media Freedom Act. It is true and has been said before that Ireland is still considered to have one of the freest, and arguably the finest, presses in the world. We are consistently ranking within the top ten nations, according to the annual world press free…

I take on board what the Government said about not having a knee-jerk reaction to fuel prices. We are in a very volatile situation and who knows which way it is going to go over the coming months? At the same time, there is some space for some sort of interim coverage. I would say it is going to be coming, to be quite honest. I would like more proactivity in terms of the timescale of what the Gove…

Almost a year ago, when I raised with the Tánaiste the issue of whether we should follow the Australian model and introduce a ban for under-16s, the Tánaiste, I think it was the second time he said it, and the Minister said it as well, said, "The era of self-regulation is over." Then today in the Chamber we heard the Government say its age verification system is not mandatory for users and not man…

Ar dtús, ba mhaith liom labhairt faoi mo Dháilcheantar féin. Is An Post about providing a community service or is it about being a for-profit company and making money? We are not talking about Leinster House bike shed-type of wastage here or but equally the service in my constituency has degraded. Postal workers have been asked to cover larger areas. We know that the letter side has declined but t…

Following what Deputy Tóibín said, why is CHI still in existence? That is something that needs to be looked at. Obviously, we have to go through the 16-week scoping exercise, led by Remy Farrell SC. That is something that the advocacy groups do not trust. It does not meet the definition of what we would call an independent mediator. The Minister might call him a kind of a facilitator to get all th…

I will follow up on what Deputy Lawless said about people coming into assets after a period of time. I do not think it is going to be overnight, as such. There have been studies, some of which are actually quite offensive, in which homeless people have been given money. I have seen this in the United States. One guy got in the region of $500,000 and it was gone within six months. There are, theref…

I support the Bill. In terms of the general debate, we had the discussion already on Second Stage in terms of having everything put together in one piece of legislation and I will not go back into that. There has been a lobby coming through about the flavours and the suggestion that people will go back to smoking tobacco. I suppose the key point to make there is they are already used to the tobac…

Ar dtús, tá sé soiléir go raibh imní mhór ag go leor daoine an bhliain seo caite nuair a chonaiceamar ciorruithe ar chiste teanga na Gaeilge. Go mórmhór, chuala mé Conradh na Gaeilge ag labhairt faoi seo. Ar an gcéad dul síos, cuirim fáilte bheag roimh an infheistíocht bhreise atá fógartha i mbuiséad 2026 do TG4, d'Údarás na Gaeltachta agus don phleanáil teanga ar fud na tíre. Is céim dhearfach í …

Ní bheadh aon Ghaeltacht ann gan cainteoirí Gaeilge. Ní bheadh aon daoine in áiteanna ar a dtugtar "Gaeltacht" orthu gan tithe. Sin í an fhadhb. Cé go bhfuil níos mó daoine ag foghlaim agus ag labhairt na Gaeilge toisc scoileanna lánGhaeilge i mo Dháilcheantar, mar shampla, agus in áiteanna eile sna cathracha móra agus i mbailte ar fud na tíre - ach amháin sna Gaeltachtaí féin - níl mórán tithe ar…

The Tánaiste's party campaigned in the run up to the general election to review and remove the eight-year deemed disposal requirement for Irish domiciled funds and life products. As he will be aware - but, just for everyone else's benefit - the system taxes people 38% every eight years on gains they have not made yet. This was reduced slightly in the budget, but it is still regressive and in pract…

I am aware that GP training places have increased over the years but, as my colleagues said in the House, it has not matched the population increase. I come from a constituency that has a huge deficit of GP services, especially in rapidly growing strategic development zones, SDZs, areas like Adamstown and Clonburris, and in rapidly growing areas like Citywest and Saggart. While GPs historically ha…

I had hoped to speak to the Taoiseach but he had to leave. Following up on an issue I raised with the Taoiseach on 27 January last, it appears that a lot of forensic psychiatrists in Ireland do not want to get involved in cases involving the killing of family members by loved ones. It appears to be related to calls for a review of processes and the whole uncertainty around that. This was reflected…

There has been great frustration, as articulated by my colleagues, felt in communities across the country following the recent announced reviews of the special SNA allocations. That includes many schools in my constituency. One of the largest reductions was to be in St. Andrew's National School, but quite a few other schools were affected as well. Thankfully, that has been halted for now. The Gov…

The 2023 legislation introduced by the Government was a good first step but it needs to go further. Employers have to give a written reason they are refusing it if the right to request is used. However, in the Farrell v. Salesforce case in 2025, the WRC upheld a complaint because the employer did not respond within four weeks in terms of the deadline. The employee got €1,000 in compensation. It sh…

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit. I am aware the Minister, Deputy Naughton, cannot be here tonight and has indicated the same. I hope the Minister of State, Deputy O'Donnell, will pass on my sentiments. I know he will have a prepared statement from the Minister. I will provide context for the Minister of State and to put it on the record. St. Mary's Boys' National School is a popular primary s…

As I said, I know the area very well. The consultants for the school pointed out that the entire site is within the riparian corridor. What the Department of education is proposing and what the school proposed are both within that. That, therefore, cannot be used as a viable excuse for not looking at an alternate site. The school is worried that the three ASD classes will be disjointed if two are …

Looking at the bigger picture, in 30 years' time, in 2056, it is estimated that the sea level will have risen by up to half a metre, so we are talking about a lot of land along the coast that will be decimated no matter what we do, no matter how many Y-shaped concrete structures we put in. In terms of being strategic with that climate change risk, we have to look at certain areas that will have to…

I also acknowledge the presence of the Canadian ambassador, H. E. Mr. King. On a personal level, I thank the Prime Minister of his country for the leadership he has shown at Davos and elsewhere in standing up to buffoonery and a lack of common sense internationally. In particular, I offer my condolences to his country, especially the families of those killed and injured at Tumbler Ridge. The spec…

It is about using this time to try to keep the country on track in relation to the 2025 national hydrogen implementation plan and its 21 key objectives. For example, we are trying to get the potential routes to market for up to 2 GW of hydrogen production from offshore wind by 2030. I acknowledge the challenges in ramping up our offshore wind, but we already have excess capacity at peak times that…

The Taoiseach is probably aware of the Mosquito - an ultrasonic, high-frequency device that is designed to deter loitering teenagers. It emits a kind of buzzing sound that can only be heard by people under the age of 25. Use of this device seems to be increasing again. My understanding is that noise can be considered an assault under section 2 of the Non-Fatal Offences Against the Person Act 1997,…

I wanted to get onto the housing committee. I am not a member of the committee but I welcome the opportunity to speak on this Bill again and support the amendments that were tabled, which relate to reviews, reports and caps. I have already said that I support the Bill in principle and the concept behind it but what is being proposed raises so many questions and concerns that, as others have mentio…

There is no absolute clarity on whether a house would be deemed unsuitable because there might be, say, an extra child or a boy and girl and then all of a sudden there is overcrowding. The landlord can tick a box and they have an excuse to get them out and then look at ways they can increase their income. Those types of unknowns are very worrying. The one I mentioned on Second Stage was the mindse…