Tag Archives: Dáil Éireann

LEAKING is a popular Leinster House pastime, but Wednesday afternoon saw a rather unique one and it came about as Clare TD Cathal Crowe was speaking. “It sounds unbelievable but there was a debate about biodiversity and I was after saying that wooden beams from the wood in Cratloe had been used to construct the roof of the House of Commons. As I was speaking about it I could see a drop falling and I said would you believe it, the roof is leaking here.” He said that the leak came about during a thunderstorm. The roof of the Dáil chamber is leaking… 🌂 @McConnellDaniel @aoifegracemoore @LouiseByrneNews @sandra_hurley @JOEdotie @MichealLehane pic.twitter.com/Am2eAuQrhV — Cathal Crowe T.D. (@CathalCroweTD) October 19, 2022 “There’s a glass skylight above the Dáil Chamber that the public wouldn’t generally see, it’s high above us. You could see a few flashes of lighting, and as I was speaking about Cratloe Woods and how its timber roofed the House …

CLARE TD Violet-Anne Wynne made history last night when she became the first woman to bring a baby into the Dail chamber. The Independent TD and young Collins Mountaine, aged seven months, were greeted with a sustained round of applause from fellow members on Wednesday evening. Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghaill quipped that it was the first time there had been “an actual” baby in the Dail. Deputy Wynne was present for the weekly voting blocks and given that the Dail creche closed at 6.15, she felt she had no other option than to bring Collins in with her to the Chamber. 'History' was made in the Dáil when Clare TD Violet-Anne Wynne brought her 7-month old daughter Collins into the chamber. Ceann Comhairle Séan Ó Fearghaíl commented that it was the first time an 'actual' baby was in the Dáil pic.twitter.com/awD4CZWJTs — RTÉ News (@rtenews) September 21, 2022 She told the Irish Examiner, “It’s a learning curve, but it’s …

THERE was friction between Clare TDs yesterday, when two Government party deputies voted to pass the controversial Bill underpinning the new grant for homeowners with defective blocks.  Deputy Michael McNamara, who drew up some of the 160 amendments sought by campaigners and the Opposition, was the only Clare TD to oppose the guillotining of the legislation yesterday (Wednesday, July 6). Deputy Violet Anne Wynne was not present in the chamber when the Bill was passed the Bill by 74 votes to 69. Frustrated at lack of time for amendments, and the stance of his constituency colleagues, Deputy McNamara was sharply critical of those ‘talking out of both sides of their mouths’. Despite voting for the guillotining of the Bill, Deputy Cathal Crowe made a number of points about the defective blocks issue. “It is very important that, while this €2.7 billion is ring-fenced, redress be expedited and further improved and refined by regulation in the autumn,” he said. The Meelick …

FINE Gael TD, Joe Carey, has told the Dáil he believes the scale of the defective concrete blocks problem in this county may extend far beyond what has been documented to-date.  Speaking during the second stage debate last Thursday (June 30) on the Remediation of Dwellings Damaged By the Use of Defective Concrete Blocks Bill 2022, he said he expects many more homeowners to come forward now that Clare is included in the revised grant scheme.  “The Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) has identified 1,025 potentially impacted private homes, 17 private housing estates, five local authority housing estates and 11 large-scale public and private dwellings,” he said. “I strongly believe this is a conservative estimate and many more affected homeowners will come forward given that County Clare is now eligible for this scheme.” Deputy Carey, who first raised the issue of defective blocks in Clare homes in 2018, said that while many aspects of the new grant were welcome, concerns remained.  “The headline aspects of the …

DELIGHT at Clare’s inclusion in a grant for homes with defective blocks has been overshadowed by concerns over the terms of the scheme. Following a campaign of almost two years, Clare gained access to the new grant which due to come into effect in the coming months. While the move has been widely welcomed, concerns remain about the eligibility criteria for the updated grant, as well as the amount of financial cover it will provide, in real terms, for homeowners. A day after the long-awaited announcement from the Housing Minister, Clare Pyrite Action Group (CPAG) were outside Dáil Éireann to voice their fears and repeat their call for pre-legislative scrutiny of the Bill that will underpin the updated grant. The woman who initiated the campaign for redress for Clare repeated her call for consultation with homeowners here. “We are making our presence known in the capital,” Dr Martina Cleary said. “The CPAG are outside the Dáil to make the clear …

DERELICTION in Clare towns needs a tougher approach, including the use of compulsory sales orders, according to Deputy Michael McNamara.  The Independent TD told the Dáil that such orders were successful in other countries. “It is done in Scotland and if it is good enough for that country, it might be worth considering in Scariff,” he said. Deputy McNamara was speaking during a special session the the Town Centre First Policy, unveiled last month by the Department of Housing. The document outlines a number of actions to tackle dereliction including the appointment of Town Regeneration Officers, investment, training for town teams, as well as local plans and national oversight.  Deputy McNamara said that he welcomed the plan, but had concerns about omissions, as well as the “political will” of some local authorities to tackle dereliction.  “To discuss what is in the plan, one of the main actions is that a town regeneration officer will be appointed to each local authority,” …

CLARE’S Sinn Féin TD has sharply criticised the fact that Clare people, whose homes have defects proven to be linked to pyrite, must continue to pay Local Property Tax (LPT). Deputy Violet Anne Wynne, who last week raised the issue in the Dáil with the Tánaiste, said the lack of action for homeowners here is a source of huge frustration. The Defective Concrete Blocks Grant Scheme is only open to Counties Mayo and Donegal and covers a maximum of 90% of remediation costs. Earlier this month, the government announced that those eligible for the scheme would get a six-year LPT waiver. Because Clare has not yet been included in the redress scheme, the LPT exemption does not apply here. Currently, at the request of the Department of Housing, Clare County Council is compiling a report on the scale of the pyrite issue here, with a view to making the case for the extension of the scheme. “Homeowners in Clare still …

CLARE’S Independent TD has called on government to stop penalising women who have just had children, by offering the a lower payment than they would receive under the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) scheme. Addressing the Tánaiste at Leader’s Questions last week, Deputy Michael McNamara said it was an opportune moment to raise the matter given the historic fact that a cabinet member had just had a baby. Congratulating Justice Minister Helen McEntee and her husband, Deputy McNamara said “there is nothing more hopeful than the birth of a baby”. “We should recall that thousands of mothers across this State, when they went on maternity leave to give birth and bring a life into the world, had their rate of pay reduced from the PUP rate to the maternity benefit rate, which is €245,” the Independent TD continued. “Notwithstanding all the laws we rightly have in the private sector to prevent women from being discriminated against because they, uniquely, give birth, …