Michael Collins Rejects Two-Week Suspension After Week-Long Standoff
Michael Collins thanked colleagues after a seven-day standoff, saying the episode had put "the very democracy of the Irish Republic" in question and must be resolved. He announced he would not support suspending the House for two weeks.
He opened by thanking those who helped resolve a situation that had been going on for seven days and said the very democracy of the Irish Republic was in question and had to be resolved before business could continue.
He said he would not be supporting the suspension of the House for two weeks. He also used the phrase "suspension of the dollar for the next two weeks" in his remarks and said members needed to be sitting before the dollar next week.
He highlighted a housing crisis with 15,000 people without homes, including young children, and warned the issue could not be set aside. He raised the health crisis too, noting patients remaining on trolleys as a pressing problem.
He described a cost of living crisis and said the country needed to debate whether the carbon tax can continue, indicating that economic pressures are central to upcoming discussions.
He pointed to an agricultural crisis where people are not receiving their payments and a fisheries crisis in which quotas for fishermen have been taken from them, arguing these sectors require immediate attention.
Resolution of a seven-day standoff
He opened by thanking those who helped resolve a situation that had been going on for seven days and said the very democracy of the Irish Republic was in question and had to be resolved before business could continue.
Position on suspension
He said he would not be supporting the suspension of the House for two weeks. He also used the phrase "suspension of the dollar for the next two weeks" in his remarks and said members needed to be sitting before the dollar next week.
Urgent housing and health concerns
He highlighted a housing crisis with 15,000 people without homes, including young children, and warned the issue could not be set aside. He raised the health crisis too, noting patients remaining on trolleys as a pressing problem.
Cost of living and carbon tax debate
He described a cost of living crisis and said the country needed to debate whether the carbon tax can continue, indicating that economic pressures are central to upcoming discussions.
Agriculture and fisheries pressures
He pointed to an agricultural crisis where people are not receiving their payments and a fisheries crisis in which quotas for fishermen have been taken from them, arguing these sectors require immediate attention.
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Transcript
Very much, like others, I'd like to thank you for resolving the situation that we've had. That's been going on now for seven days as such. The very democracy of the Irish Republic was in question here, and it had to be resolved before we could go forward. You cannot have a situation that was being put before us that looks like it's going to be resolved going forward, and a settlement was made here today. I appreciate that. We will not be supporting the suspension of the House for two weeks. We have a housing crisis with 15,000 people without homes, young children without a home. We have a health crisis. I know, I'm almost finished up. We have a health crisis with people on trolleys. We have a cost of living crisis where we want to discuss whether carbon tax can continue in this country or not. We have an agricultural crisis where people are not getting their payments, and we have a fisheries crisis where the quotas for fishermen have been taken from them, and we need to be here sitting before the dollar next week. And on that basis, we won't be supporting the suspension of the dollar for the next two weeks. Thank you, Deputy.