Thomas Gould

Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael TDs are looking for speaking time in here and they are not turning up.

They are crying that it is the end of the world, but they are not turning up.

There are loads of Opposition people who would take their speaking time. I will take extra time if I can get it.

We will go back to another area where the Government is failing. In Cork city, figures show that there are 26 fewer gardaí compared with the end of 2023 and a staggering 61 fewer gardaí compared with two years ago. At the same time, over the past 12 months, burglaries, thefts and extortion have increased by 53% in the southern region. Last year, my constituency was subjected to a terrifying ordeal…

15. Deputy Thomas Gould asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the number of businesses in Cork that received the power up grant; the number of businesses that received the increased cost of business grant, ICOB, 1; and the number of businesses that wrote to him or his Department requesting assistance because of a mistake on their initial ICOB application preventing access to the …

What is the number of businesses in Cork that received the power up grant; the number of businesses that received the increased cost of business grant, ICOB 1; and the number of businesses that wrote to the Department requesting assistance because of a mistake that was made in the initial ICOB application, which then prevented access later on to the power up grant?

What has happened is that it seems a number of businesses made a mistake when they applied for the ICOB 1 grant. Due to that, some of them did not follow up for the second ICOB. When they went for the third grant, even though they were eligible for the power up grant, because they made a mistake at the start, they did not get it. Is there any chance the Minister will reopen that grant for people w…

----- and which fill the criteria. Will the Minister show a little common sense and maybe help them, because he has the ability to do so? These businesses need that support.

Will you reopen it for those who made an initial error?

We are talking about AI and the future of technology in the State. The reality is that while technology has moved forward in leaps and bounds in some areas, we still have large portions of our public service operating off systems that are from the last century. The bus app in Cork that is run by Bus Éireann and the NTA is one of the most unreliable and useless pieces of technology or apps that peo…

There is a crisis in children's mental health services in Cork and Kerry. A total of 60% of all children on waiting lists for CAMHS appointments for more than one year are in Cork and Kerry - 60% in just two counties. Hundreds of children experiencing severe mental health issues are on a waiting list while their parents and loved ones watch their condition deteriorate. A mother contacted me recent…

I am disappointed that the Minister, Deputy James Browne, is not here today. This is a serious issue. If I had known in advance, I might have postponed the question until next week when he would be here to answer it. It is about a serious public health matter in Cork and the senior Minister should be here to provide answers or I should have been notified he would not be here. For two years, the c…

This bottle I am holding contains what we are drinking in Cork. It is yellow. The thing about this is that if you boil it, the cast iron, the dirt and the manganese are still in it. People are boiling the water at home thinking they are doing the right thing but instead all they are doing is drinking dirty water. Does the Minister of State think the people of Dublin would accept this? Why should t…

I will finish with this. People with children and babies have to buy bottled water. The people at risk here are people who are blind or have sight issues, as well as older people, who are drinking this water because they do not have the money to buy bottled water.

Gabhaim buíochas leis an Aire Stáit.

The figure is 29,000. The figure should be correct.

We told the truth. We told the truth; that was the difference. The Tánaiste misled the public.

They were.

First of all, I thank the people of Cork North-Central for re-electing me. I am proud to be back here for a second time as a TD. I am really proud of my family, my friends and everyone who got behind me. I will work for all the constituents of Cork North-Central and of this State because we have a big job of work to do. This storm and the previous storms have highlighted the job of work that we ne…

One in every 50 people in Gaza has been killed by Israel. Can you imagine the scale of that? Forty-six thousand people have been killed since 7 October 2023. We now have a ceasefire, but in the midst of the ceasefire that came into effect on 26 January, a two-year-old girl, Layla, who was being fed by her pregnant mother in the West Bank, was shot in the head. She was shot in the head by an Israel…

Sorry, a Cheann Comhairle, can I have a point of order, please? I would like to pick up a point of order.

I am an elected Member of this Dáil and I am entitled to do that. The people of Cork North-Central elected me----

Fair is fair. There has to be fairness. There must be fairness now.

We are not going to take five years of being pushed down and unfairness. I am asking about Standing Orders.

We will not stand for it.