Ruairí Ó Murchú (Louth, Sinn Fein)

I have just come from a meeting of the foreign affairs committee where we engaged with American Chamber of Commerce Ireland. We talked about geopolitical circumstances and the situation in Gaza. It is fair to say there was disagreement on the occupied territories Bill. I believe we, like many other states, are on the right side of that argument. We also spoke about the current uncertainty and all the other issues caused by the US Administration, the Trump tariffs and the question of where negotiations will go. However, the witnesses said the issues their members are dealing with at this time relate to the infrastructural deficits we still see. It is not a major shock that housing is a particular issue. We all understand the societal impact of that but, as well as the huge impact on families and individuals, we also know there is a huge impact on businesses and on our future growth.

As we discuss almost every week in this House, without seeing any major plan in terms of delivery, a particular issue is that we have an energy grid that is not fit for purpose and has not received the resourcing required to ensure delivery of improvements. We all know this is happening in the same context as the issues in relation to our water infrastructure, which is not where it needs to be. Unfortunately, not only are we failing in regard to long-term delivery but we are doing so during a cost-of-living crisis in which we are failing miserably to look after those who have to pay, especially those at the lowest end. I ask that we proceed with a view to delivering a fit-for-purpose grid while also ensuring we look after those people who live and work in Ireland and need the supports that have not been provided by the Government.

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