Mattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent) | Oireachtas source

-----if that is possible. We have sniggers and insults across the floor. It is disgusting behaviour that has crept in from those who will not tolerate anything.

A situation is also being forced on us in respect of the refugee crisis. We are "Ireland of the thousand welcomes", of course, but the problem is the management of that welcome and of inward migration, and the undocumented people who have arrived here. There is a lack of both information and a cohesive plan. We saw it in Lismore this week and it could be in the town of Cahir, where I live, next week, where rumour emerges. I have spoken about it to the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Deputy O'Gorman, who is doing his best, and the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage, Deputy Darragh O'Brien. We need planning. We do not have the hospital services, again thanks to the troika and the banking collapse. We do not have the teaching capability or the services in place. We are foisting people on communities with no information, no proper truth and no proper debate. That is not a good situation. We want to welcome. We want to be able to say, "Ní neart go cur le chéile", as the Ceann Comhairle said, but we want to do so positively and together. We want to be able to debate the policy in this House. We have not had that debate for the past year. We will have statements next week, thankfully, when we will have some modicum of debate.

All is not well in our little country. Europe has been good to us. We are celebrating 50 years in the EU but its policies are affecting the sale of portions of Coillte. European rules will not allow Coillte to avail of grants. This must be re-examined. The policies are too rigid to allow our economy to thrive. For our people to survive and be the vibrant people they are, we need better understanding from Europe for us.

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