Erin McGreehan (Louth, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

Gabhaim buíochas leis an gCeann Comhairle. Is mór an onóir dom labhairt anseo inniu mar Theachta Dála don Dáilchean Lú. Is é seo mo chéad chaint sa Teach seo agus ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le mo theaghlach, le mo chairde, le mo lucht tacaíochta agus leis na baill d’Fhianna Fáil i gContae Lú a d’oibrigh chomh dian ar mo shon. Táim, fíorbhuíoch díobh as a n-iarrachtaí

IT is a huge honour to be standing here as a TD for the constituency of Louth. It is my first proper opportunity to speak in the House. I thank my family, friends and supporters, Louth Fianna Fáil and all those who worked so hard.

I am very grateful for all their efforts. I do not know if I could ever articulate how immensely proud and honoured I am because this is a wee girl's dream. It is a rare beauty when, as an adult, you can speak to your seven-year-old self and proudly say, "We did it. Stay bold, stay ambitious, keep working and keep believing. Do not let them create a path for you, create one for yourself". I was an ambitious young girl and now I am desperately ambitious for my county and my country. Over the next five years, day in and day out, I will fight unapologetically for things that matter to my constituents.

In the programme for Government there are many plans that must come to reality and work for all of Louth. Louth is a unique county with unique challenges and opportunities. It is along the Border, with two larger towns in Dundalk and Drogheda, a thriving agricultural sector, a rich coastline and the finest people. We have many difficulties stifling us as a community. These include access to healthcare. There is large issue with the emergency department in Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda. It does not have the capacity to deal with our ballooning population. Louth County Hospital in Dundalk is underutilised. It needs to be adequately equipped to take the pressure off Drogheda.

We have children with additional needs who cannot get the therapies and supports they require. Some have no secondary school places even though they have been in school for almost eight years and no one thought to forward plan. Children with disabilities and their families exist in a State-sanctioned vacuum where they feel unheard, unhelped and truly exhausted. The focus the Government has put on disability must be actioned and delivered.

Louth is integral to the economic output of this country and the Government needs to make us a priority. We need to continue to grow our thriving economy and provide opportunities in all sectors, including agriculture, aquaculture, manufacturing and fintech. We must continue to focus on attracting new businesses, supporting existing enterprises, investing in innovation and technology to drive growth and create jobs, building houses for the diverse and growing population we have and looking after the engine of our local economies and our communities. We must reduce the cost of doing business for our small and medium enterprises. Our retail and service sectors are struggling. Many of the costs placed on our businesses are taxes and costs imposed by the State. If we are serious about our SME sector, we must be serious about reducing costs.

There is an endless to-do list that I will bring up in the House over the next few years. We have infrastructural deficits in our water services and electrical grid and issues with childcare places and school places. We need to overhaul, support and fund our youth sector. The Narrow Water bridge must be finished and the roads around it must be upgraded to take the extra capacity. Carlingford ferry needs to be supported and a sustainable funding mechanism must be found in an overall cross-Border tourism plan for the loop of the lough. We have so much to offer but we need the area to be supported to deliver it.

Public transport needs to be improved drastically with bus routes. Access for people to use bus transport needs to be enhanced the length and breadth of the county and not only on national routes. We need another train station in Louth. Dunleer is there but it is not used. The Ardee bypass must happen. Ardee is struggling. It is drowning under a constant traffic jam. There will be a DART extension to Drogheda. Why not look at bringing it to Dundalk and Dunleer?

We need more adult and child respite services. I want the Government to finally invest in Louth GAA stadium. Work will begin soon and I want the drawdown of the large-scale sport infrastructure funding to happen in the next few years. There must be investment in policing and safe communities. I am fed up with seeing empty Garda stations and gardaí struggling to protect and look after our communities.

There is an inextricable link between social and economic prosperity and they are by no means exclusive concepts. If we do not take care and enhance and protect our communities, we fail. If we do not take care of the most vulnerable, we fail, and the Government will fail. The new programme for Government aims to address a range of priorities crucial for the well-being and prosperity of the country. It is comprehensive and outlines key proposals and strategies for various sectors, including disability, mental health, education, health, crime, infrastructural deficits and the economy. We must deliver this. I wish the Ministers all the very best in their terms of office. This nation and the people of it rely on their success.

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