Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

Ar an chéad dul síos, déanaim comhbhrón le clanna na daoine a fuair bás inné. They were Ms Clare O'Neill, whose home was not too far away from me in Aglish, Contae Port Láirge, Mr. Fintan Goss in County Louth and Mr. Michael Pyke. I know the Pyke family and express my sympathy to all the families. The Pyke family is hard-working and decent, and Michael's dad, Tony, worked for years with Tipperary County Council. He was out yesterday with the other colleagues who came on the scene, including fire services and the Garda Síochána. They attended many such incidents. Like many who have spoken, I thank the front-line service men and women and the people who heeded the good warnings given by Met Éireann. I condemn the people who shamefully and wilfully went out to sea to surf, for example. There should be legislation on this, as somebody mentioned. We cannot have people endangering the lives of rescue personnel, including the Red Cross, the Garda Síochána and the fire and ambulance services. People were putting their lives at risk and we must support and salute them. I appeal to those who still are without power to be very careful with trees that have fallen or roofs that have shifted. They should be extra careful as we do not want any more fatalities or serious injuries. It was a short, sharp hurricane but it brought back the reality that there is a God above and things can happen. With all the power we have, we cannot stop him. We want to be careful so there are no more fatalities. People should watch out for falling debris and changes to land beside rivers and streams. Much can happen when trees are uprooted in particular. Bígí cúramach.

I am appalled the Minister of State has been on his own for the past half hour, as had been the other Minister of State, Deputy Phelan, before that. That is the interest the Government has in the rural-centred motion we put down. I compliment Deputy Michael Collins and all colleagues in the Rural Independent Group on putting this down. One might argue it is about Cork but it is not; it is about the national planning framework and what is going to happen after the change in Cork and every other place. I thank Ms Máiréad Nic Craith, our secretary and Padge Reck in Wexford, a politician of long standing, now retired, who gave us some input on this. Without people like those and their service, we would not be anywhere at all.

Many people made contributions tonight and I welcome all the comments. I am disappointed with the lack of support offered tonight but that is democracy. There are only seven of us and we will have to get stronger in order to reach the ten Deputies we need to push our votes. We would welcome others in supporting us on Thursday so we can divide the House on the motion.

I raised similar concerns recently when I informed the House of the latest statistics from the EUROSTAT 2016 yearbook, which are deeply alarming for rural Ireland. This is staring us in the face. One does not need spectacles and if there is a nose on one's face, one would see it anywhere. We can see it in the Minister of State's constituency, my constituency or those of Deputies Harty, Michael Collins, Grealish, Michael Healy-Rae and Danny Healy-Rae. It is there in front of us night and day.

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