Seanad debates

Tuesday, 25 May 2021

An tOrd Gnó - Order of Business

 

9:00 am

Photo of Timmy DooleyTimmy Dooley (Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

I welcome the decision of the 27 EU member states last night to launch fresh sanctions against the Lukashenko dictatorship in Belarus. The intervention of President Biden overnight in his comments of support for the European Union and the decision it has taken, and an indication that the United States will follow suit with increased sanctions on Belarus, is to be welcomed. I think most right-minded people have been deeply disturbed by what has transpired in recent days. The effective hijacking of an Irish-owned airliner by the Belarusian Government was an audacious act which must be condemned and in respect of which appropriate sanctions must be put in place. The free movement of people within and between member states is one of the fundamental freedoms of the European Union, and anything that might undermine it has to be dealt with in the most aggressive manner possible. I hope that in the coming days we will see the strength of those sanctions and they will bring some consideration to bear in the minds of the people of Belarus, particularly its leadership.

I ask the Leader again to try to arrange, if possible, a debate here at the earliest possible opportunity on the issue of Irish Water and its operational programme. Yet again the town of Kilkee finds itself with a no-swim imposition, with no bathing in the bay at Kilkee for the third year in a row now. Going back to 2018 and 2019, the town and the area were promised that a plan was under way to improve the infrastructure such that this kind of situation would not be allowed to continue. Unfortunately, however, it has continued. This comes at a really difficult time, when the Government and the State are encouraging people to stay at home, to stay focused, not to travel too far, to utilise our beauty spots and to work within our own resources. There is nowhere more beautiful than Kilkee on a fine summer's day. So many people find an attraction there. They go there on visits and to take their holidays. However, there is little point in people heading to Kilkee on their holidays if they cannot swim. Until such time as Irish Water comes forward with a plan and a programme to upgrade the sewerage infrastructure, we should not stop either in this House or anywhere else. We need to see these kinds of locations addressed. We need to see the infrastructure appropriately repaired and upgraded in order that people are not left on holidays in a town but unable to use the most important amenity there.

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