Joanne Collins (Sinn Fein)

I thank the Minister of State for being here this evening for what is a very important debate in this House. It is not spoken about very often and some might be afraid to speak about it, but it does need to be debated and we need to set the record straight on what is actually happening here in our wonderful country. At the moment, communities across Ireland are at breaking point. The Minister of State knows this himself from calls and emails to his constituency office. People are just at breaking point. Families cannot find homes, schools are overcrowded, GP lists are closed and public transport is collapsing under pressure. Young people who want to build their lives in this country are instead being forced abroad because there is nowhere affordable for them to live. Yet in the middle of all these crises, the Government has imposed migration policies on communities without consultation, resources or fairness. Centres are being opened in areas under massive strain with no proper assessment of services and no genuine engagement with local people, just a top-down approach from Dublin. Instead of planning properly, the Government has relied on planning exemptions and heavy-handed directives that ignore the reality on the ground. Communities are left as an afterthought.

Meanwhile, profiteering has spiralled out of control due to this negligence. This year alone, the State will spend an estimated €1.2 billion on IPAS accommodation and hundreds of millions more housing Ukrainians. The average daily rate paid per bed soared by 68% between 2022 and 2024. One company, IGO, paid its directors €4.6 million in 2024 from State contracts. Shockingly, contracts are even being awarded to firms linked to organised crime and fraudulent Garda vetting. Communities are left to cope while profiteers cash in. That is not just scandalous, it is a betrayal of the Irish people. The Government has failed to plan, protect these communities or safeguard the public money. It has created chaos and that chaos has bred division.

Sinn Féin is clear: we need a full review of all contracts, an end to planning exemptions and real transparency so taxpayers know where the money is going. We need a migration system that is fair for those who come here seeking safety and for the communities that welcome them. Migration can and should be a positive force for Ireland. Our health service depends on migrant workers, as many of my colleagues have said today. Many communities are enriched by newcomers, through small things like families coming over and the increase of children in those communities keeping a teacher in a smaller school because they will up the numbers. It is a good thing; we just need to have the proper resources in place. The Government needs to work and do its job. We need to plan properly, supporting our communities and stamping out profiteering. The people of Ireland cannot continue to carry the weight of the Government's failures. It is time that we put the resources in place and looked after our communities.