Results 141-160 of 2,065 for in 'Dáil debates' speaker:Michael Collins

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: I thank the Taoiseach for the reply but I am astonished to think that the Taoiseach said he knew about this - and obviously the Taoiseach and other Ministers must know about this - but they have no solution. The nursing home is closing and there are 22 residents in that nursing home. They have no home to go to. The Government has no backup plan other than someone will talk to someone. As...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (4 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: We often speak in the Dáil about homelessness and the horror of young people getting eviction notices, which is an horrendous worry on anyone's mind. Let us think for one minute about being aged 70, 80 or 90-plus, being in a nursing home and getting an eviction notice. This happened in August to 48 residents of a 68-bed nursing home in Belgooly in west Cork, which is run by a group...

An Garda Síochána: Motion [Private Members] (4 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: As we celebrate the centenary of An Garda Síochána, it is crucial to acknowledge the pressing challenges this revered institution. Morale within the force has plummeted to an all-time low and this crisis of confidence cannot be ignored. The GRA, which represents rank-and-file gardaí, recently registered an overwhelming vote of no confidence in the force's most senior officer,...

Childcare Fees: Motion [Private Members] (3 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: The early childcare providers have delivered for this country but shamefully, the Minister has turned his back on them. He has shamefully rattled out figures time and time again but has never broken these down. These providers have asked him for a complete breakdown of them. Those who came up here and had to go on strike for three days outside the Dáil have to listen to the Minister...

School Transport 2023-2024: Statements (3 Oct 2023)

Michael Collins: The utter lack of accessible public transport in rural areas and this outdated system have left countless students stranded without reliable transportation to their schools. It is an absolute disgrace. The Government has the audacity to preach about reducing car journeys for the sake of our environment, but the absence of adequate public and school bus transport is a glaring contradiction...

Gas (Amendment) Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: In our deliberations on the Bill’s provisions, we must remain steadfast in our commitment to safeguarding Ireland’s energy security, a non-negotiable asset that cannot be jeopardised by political hesitation or short-term thinking. Ensuring the future energy needs of our nation is a collective duty that begins with unwavering support for vital initiatives like the Shannon LNG...

Eviction Ban Bill 2022: Motion (27 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: I will be agreeing with this motion because I have seen what the lifting of the eviction ban has done. It has added to more difficulties for people who are seeking a home. They are being evicted from their homes and have no rights. I attend an average of ten clinics a week and once a month I might do another 15 or 20 in small rural communities. Every Saturday, I hold a clinic at 9.30 a.m....

Children's Health Ireland - Patient safety concerns and reviews in paediatric orthopaedic surgical services: Statements, Questions and Answers (26 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: I am delighted the Minister, Deputy Donnelly, is here before us today because this is a hugely serious issue. I recently received a heartfelt email from one of my constituents, a concerned mother whose child is a patient at Temple Street hospital. In her message, she expressed profound anxiety regarding her child's well-being. She conveyed her utmost appreciation for the surgeon who...

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: Out of touch.

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business (26 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: Today, thousands of early childcare providers have converged on our capital for a decent, peaceful protest outside the Dáil. For three days their services will be closed in a desperate effort to wake a sleeping Minister and a very much sound-asleep Government on this issue. Is the Taoiseach aware that 97 services have closed this year so far? Is he aware that many more are on the...

Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023: Second Stage (21 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: The Energy (Windfall Gains in the Energy Sector) (Cap on Market Revenues) Bill 2023 is about putting limits on how much money electricity producers can make, as required by a European Union rule from October 2022. This limit will affect certain types of electricity production and will cover the period from December 2022 until June 2023. People are concerned because it took our Government...

Mortgage Interest Relief: Motion (Resumed) [Private Members] (20 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: I am sharing time with my colleagues. Imagine someone who has just stepped onto the property ladder, finally owning a place to call home. Now picture this newfound security suddenly shaken by something the person has never faced before, namely, rising mortgage interest rates. For many in Ireland, this is a reality check they have never seen coming. It is causing many sleepless nights and...

Local Government (Mayor of Limerick) Bill 2023: Second Stage (20 Sep 2023)

Michael Collins: I appreciate the opportunity to speak about the position of mayor of Limerick city and county and I acknowledge my learned colleague Deputy O'Donoghue, whose area we are talking about. I have serious reservations as to the costing of the mayor for the county. From where will the money come? Will the Government put up its hands and say it will fully fund the mayor for the five years of the...

Ceisteanna ar Pholasaí nó ar Reachtaíocht - Questions on Policy or Legislation (13 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: Sophie Toscan du Plantier was brutally murdered outside her home in Kealfadda in Goleen - in the parish in which I live - on 23 December 1996. Twenty-seven years on, her death continues to enthrall the world but remains a blight on our island. Sophie's father is now 97 and her mother is 92. They and Sophie's son Pierre Louis want justice immediately in this case in Ireland. The French...

European Council Meeting: Statements, Questions and Answers (12 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: It was reported at the weekend that the cost to the Irish taxpayer of taking unlimited numbers of Ukrainian refugees alone will be over €5.5 billion just to get us to the middle of 2024. To make matters worse the Government will pay €1.5 million of taxpayers money to the EU for its failure to accommodate asylum seekers with 350 international protection applicants without...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: I thank the Taoiseach for his reply. He does not seem to grasp the crisis I am talking about. He is always welcome to west Cork, one of the most stunning parts of our country. However, it is not Jurassic Park, where you drive in and drive out waving and smiling. We live there with the unfinished bypasses and those that have not been done at all. We live with no simple passing bays being...

Ceisteanna ó Cheannairí - Leaders' Questions (12 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: I have heard the Taoiseach has visited west Cork twice in the past two years. Last year he went as far west as my parish in Goleen, passing my own door on the way to Schull and the last weekend he went to Bandon and Courtmacsherry. In contrast to the recent visit by the Minister, Deputy Stephen Donnelly, who is sitting next to the Taoiseach, my biggest regret is that the Taoiseach did not...

Investment in Football: Motion [Private Members] (12 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: I welcome David Hall and Michael Burgoyne from the west Cork schoolboys' and schoolgirls' leagues, who made the journey up from west Cork today to the Gallery for the debate. West Cork boasts an ever-increasing footballing population, with a current active player register of 3,000, from under eight to adulthood. In recent years, the league has gone from strength to strength in terms of...

Housing and Homelessness: Motion [Private Members] (11 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: There are many reasons we have a housing crisis and we have put forward many of those in motions recently at every opportunity available to us. Planning permissions are a very significant issue, as are sewerage issues, where housing developments are being objected to and where county development plan decisions are taken out of the hands of councillors. All of these decisions are feeding...

Health (Termination of Pregnancy Services) (Safe Access Zones) Bill 2023: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Jul 2023)

Michael Collins: When the Minister addressed the Seanad on 10 February 2022, he acknowledged that introducing a law to create exclusion zones outside abortion facilities would push up against civil liberties, yet he persisted in bringing forward this Bill before this House. In the same intervention in the Seanad he publicly admitted that he was rejecting the advice of An Garda Síochána that a Bill...