Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)

I move:

That the Ceann Comhairle direct the Clerk of the Dáil to issue his writ for the election of a Member to fill the vacancy which has occurred in the membership of the present Dáil consequent on the resignation of Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, a Member for the Constituency of Donegal South-West.

Molaim an rún chun fo-thoghchán a chur ar siúl i nDún na nGall Thiar-Theas gan moill. Tá sé mar ceart bunúsach ag pobal an Dáilcheantair seo ionadaíocht iomlán a bheith acu sa Dáil. Tá dualgas daonlathach ar an Rialtas dáta an fo-thoghchán a shocrú anois agus iarraimíd orthu é sin a dhéanamh inniu.

This by-election should be called now so that the people of Donegal South-West can have their full representation in the Dáil and the representative they elect can take his or her place here on the resumption of the Dáil in the autumn.

The democratic representation of the people of Donegal South-West must be restored to its full quota at the earliest opportunity. We must not see a repeat of previous situations where constituencies have been left for more than a year without their proper representation. Sinn Féin is taking the lead in calling for this by-election to be held at the earliest opportunity.

County Donegal was, by and large, left behind by the Celtic tiger and is suffering the highest levels of unemployment in the State with 10,000 people losing their jobs last year. The infrastructure deficit in the constituency is massive. It has no railway link, little access to broadband, local and regional roads are in a state of disrepair and it is not connected to the national gas grid. The fishing sector is on its knees as a result of Government inaction, the fundamentally flawed EU fisheries policy and over-regulation. Cancer services are to be withdrawn from one of the hospitals serving south Donegal along with massive cuts in home help hours. The future of the Gaeltacht is in question as it continues to contract.

All these issues need to be addressed and it is, therefore, essential that Donegal South-West has its full democratic representation restored without further delay. There is a special obligation on the Government to hold this by-election since it created the vacancy. Fianna Fáil's EU election strategy for the European Parliament North West constituency fell asunder when its candidate and MEP Seán Ó Neachtain pulled the plug at the last minute. The party was forced to draft in former Deputy Pat The Cope Gallagher, as both a proven vote-getter and a Donegal representative, with the view to thwarting the challenge of Sinn Féin's Pádraig Mac Lochlainn.

If the Government refuses to accept this motion today, it will be rightly concluded that the prospect of Sinn Féin electoral success in County Donegal was again a determining factor because Sinn Féin Senator Pearse Doherty would be a front-runner in this by-election.

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